{"id":53615,"date":"2023-09-14T18:37:46","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T18:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/city-vows-to-address-residents-plight-2"},"modified":"2023-09-14T18:37:46","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T18:37:46","slug":"city-vows-to-address-residents-plight-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/city-vows-to-address-residents-plight-2","title":{"rendered":"City vows to address residents\u2019 plight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pricilla Mukokobi<\/p>\n

Isai Sipunga<\/b><\/p>\n

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>The City of Windhoek is working on a proposal to write off debt for about 20 000 pensioners, who owe the City close to N$225 million. The proposed write-off is expected to include interest owed by all residents.<\/p>\n

However, this process will be executed cautiously to ensure long-term sustainability, the municipality said on Tuesday in response to a petition by the Katutura Residents Committee.<\/p>\n

Responding to their cries, deputy mayor Magdalena Lombardt warned that this process must be executed cautiously to ensure long-term sustainability. The City has lately been fighting tooth and nail to get its books in order, and defiant residents are not making it any easier.<\/p>\n

As of May 2023, the City was owed a staggering N$1.2 billion. Despite numerous challenges, the City is actively pursuing assisting its residents, even though debts are becoming unsustainable. This, City officials said, is making it difficult for the municipality to deliver uninterrupted municipal services to clients and customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are actively considering various debt management modalities and are bound by legal mandates. Therefore, we cannot freeze interest on arrears. However, for pensioners\u2019 payment arrangements, a principal decision was taken by the City to charge only a 15% down-payment, instead of the 33.33% requirement as per the City\u2019s Credit Control Policy,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

This figure led the municipality to start disconnecting its services for accounts in arrears for 30 days and older. Many homes, especially in Katutura, went dark between June and July 2023, an action that did not sit well with residents. The deputy mayor added that the City has the mandate to suspend prepaid services to recover outstanding debts for various services rendered.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to note that the electricity prepaid installations have always been free for pensioners. However, the only requirement is that the pensioners apply for the installation of prepaid electricity meters. \u201cAs for the prepaid water meters, there are currently payment options available to pensioners and general residents, which are upfront payments or payment of repayment of the prepaid meter installation cost over a maximum period of five years, deducted through the purchase of the unit at an interest rate of 11%,\u201d Lombardt said.<\/p>\n

The deputy mayor further showed her concern about non-pensioner residents who use situations such as this to petition and rally support whilst being in arrears themselves and who shy away from obligations to pay for what they use.<\/p>\n

Therefore, Lombardt assured that such cases, including repeated re-connections of defaulters\u2019 services, will be thoroughly investigated and addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be noted that no pensioners\u2019 residential properties accounts are handed over to RedForce and that there is no interest charged on accounts handed over to RedForce for all residents, apart from the collection fee of 10% of each payment made,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

On the matter of residents demanding that the City ends its agreement with RedForce, the deputy mayor said the City charges 20% per annum on arrears, while RedForce charges 10% on amounts paid. Prior to the appointment of RedForce, clients\u2019 accounts were handed over to attorneys for further debt collection.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose accounts, handed over for legal collection to external attorneys, accumulated vast amounts of debt, which placed a significant financial burden on the City and the clients, since the attorneys charged legal fees, even if they had not collected the amount from the defaulters, whereas RedForce claims only 10% on actual payment received by council,\u201d Lombardt explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe previous collection process proved to be costly, with no surety of financial benefit to the City or the client. Thus, the appointment of RedForce to collect debts on behalf of the City, was deemed<\/p>\n

more financially viable,\u201d she said. Lombardt said the City is committed to a thorough, policy-driven approach and will not be rushed into hasty decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, I kindly ask for our residents\u2019 patience as we conduct the necessary due diligence in line with our approval processes, which we hope to conclude by the end of October 2023,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pricilla Mukokobi Isai Sipunga Africa-Press – Namibia. The City of Windhoek is working on a proposal to write off debt for about 20 000 pensioners, who owe the City close to N$225 million. The proposed write-off is expected to include interest owed by all residents. However, this process will be executed cautiously to ensure long-term […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":53614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-53615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nCity vows to address residents\u2019 plight - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/city-vows-to-address-residents-plight-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"City vows to address residents\u2019 plight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pricilla Mukokobi Isai Sipunga Africa-Press – Namibia. 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