Tjombe challenges legality of CoW’s mass utility disconnections

Renthia Kaimbi

Human rights lawyer Norman Tjombe has questioned the legality of the City of Windhoek’s planned mass disconnection of water and electricity services.

He warned that cutting off access to water could expose vulnerable residents to serious health risks and violate their constitutional rights.

The municipality announced on Tuesday that it would begin disconnecting water and electricity services from Thursday (today) targeting accounts in arrears across all Windhoek suburbs.

The exercise will be conducted under the municipality’s Credit Control Policy and applicable municipal legislation, with residents and businesses warned to settle outstanding accounts or make payment arrangements to avoid disconnection.

However, Tjombe argues that the municipality cannot pursue revenue collection without considering the human rights implications of denying residents access to an essential service such as potable water.

He said the planned disconnections were particularly insensitive given the financial pressure facing households amid the ongoing foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, which has disrupted rural livelihoods and threatened employment in the meat industry.

“We are in the midst of a debilitating foot-and-mouth disease which is decimating people’s incomes,” Tjombe said, adding that urban families who depend on financial and material support from relatives engaged in small-scale livestock farming had suddenly lost that assistance.

He also pointed to the risk of job losses among hundreds of workers employed in abattoirs, butcheries and shops affected by the outbreak.

“Denying people access to potable water will result in increased risk of cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, hepatitis A, and other life-threatening diarrheal illnesses,” he warned.

Tjombe said the municipality’s decision failed to account for vulnerable residents, including young children, elderly and frail people, as well as those living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis who depend on adequate water and hygiene conditions.

“Access to clean water is a human right, and the City must approach its revenue collection efforts with that in mind, and not subject people to inhuman conditions,” he said.

Namibia’s Water Resources Management Act 11 of 2013 expressly recognises equitable access to safe drinking water as a basic human right.

Section 3(a) identifies it as essential to a healthy and productive life, while section 3(b) calls for access to sufficient quantities of safe water to maintain life and productive activities.

The Local Authorities Act 23 of 1992 as well as the municipality’s Water Regulations and its Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy, however, also gives municipalities powers to disconnect services for non-payment and where no acceptable payment arrangements had been made.

Responding to questions from the Windhoek Observer, the municipality’s spokesperson Lydia Amutenya said the mass disconnection exercise was prompted by continued non-payment of municipal accounts and the growing debt owed to the municipality.

She said the City’s debtors’ book currently stands at approximately N$932.7 million, making debt recovery critical to its financial sustainability and ability to maintain infrastructure, purchase bulk water and electricity and ensure continued service delivery.

“The exercise will be implemented across all suburbs and will apply to qualifying accounts that are 30 days or more in arrears, where no payment has been made and no approved payment arrangement has been concluded,” Amutenya said.

She maintained that the City’s Credit Control Policy was applied consistently and fairly to all account holders.

Amutenya said residents and businesses experiencing financial difficulties were encouraged to approach the municipality to negotiate payment arrangements before disconnection teams begin operations.

Customers who enter into approved payment arrangements and comply with the agreed terms may avoid disconnection and additional penalties.

She said disconnected services would be restored within 48 hours after payment had been received and verified, but warned that a reconnection fee of N$650 would apply in addition to settling outstanding balances or meeting the requirements of an approved payment arrangement.

“The City acknowledges that water and electricity are essential services and continuously encourages residents to engage with the municipality before enforcement measures become necessary,” she said.

“At the same time, residents and businesses have a responsibility to pay for services consumed.”

Amutenya said revenue collected from municipal accounts enabled the City to maintain infrastructure, procure bulk services from suppliers and continue providing services to the wider community.

She also pointed to the municipality’s debt relief programme, which she said had been implemented between 2023 and 2025 to assist vulnerable residents.

Of the N$724 million approved by council for debt relief and write-offs, approximately N$383.9 million had already been written off to benefit pensioners, orphan-led households and other qualifying vulnerable groups.

She said the programme remained active, with pensioner-owned households and other qualifying residents who had not yet benefited encouraged to approach the municipality for assistance.

Qualifying pensioners are required to provide proof that the property is registered in their names, while beneficiaries must convert to prepaid services as part of the programme.

According to Amutenya, the prepaid system is intended to help beneficiaries manage their consumption and avoid accumulating unsustainable municipal debt.

Amutenya also dismissed suggestions that the City’s billing system was defective, acknowledging that a recent incident had resulted in a limited number of customer accounts being incorrectly flagged.

She said the matter had been identified and corrected through the municipality’s internal controls.

“Isolated incidents of this nature do not render the entire billing system defective,” she said, describing claims that the entire system was faulty as misleading.

The City maintained that while it had an obligation to provide municipal services, residents and businesses also had a responsibility to pay for services rendered.