Matyayi: Mass disconnections not punishment to residents as City fights to recover N$932.7m

The City of Windhoek has clarified that its latest decision to embark on a mass disconnection of water and electricity is not an exercise intended to punish or further impoverish residents.

However, a legal measure under its Credit Control Policy to recover outstanding municipal debts of N$932.7 million.

The City is now battling on two fronts after social justice activist Shaun Gariseb, representing the Khomas Residents and Ratepayers

Association, last week launched a social media campaign where he called on Windhoek property owners to join a sweeping payment boycott of municipal debts.

Gariseb and the Association have accused the City of applying rouge billing practices, excessive account management systems and escalating debts of already improvised residents.

Reeling from the massive revenue shortfall, City of Windhoek CEO Moses Matyayi on Friday issued a statement swiftly condemning the campaign, warning that a civic strike against making payments risks crippling critical infrastructure and pushing municipal operations to the brink of collapse.

At the absolute centre of the escalating crisis is the N$932.7 million in unpaid utility and service bills left outstanding by the residents, which has since triggered mass disconnections of water and electricity by the City to recover the outstanding arrears.

Matyayi maintained that the ongoing mass disconnection campaign is not a punitive assault on citizens or an admission of administrative failure, but a vital, non-negotiable credit control intervention required to claw back public funds.

“The City respects the right of every resident, ratepayer association and stakeholder to hold and express views on municipal affairs. That right is protected by Article 21(1) of the Namibian Constitution. It is, however, exercised subject to Article 21(2), which permits reasonable restrictions imposed by law, including in relation to incitement to an offence. A call to residents to withhold payment of lawfully determined municipal charges is a different matter. It invites disregard of a statutory obligation, and the City cannot remain silent in the face of it,” Matyayi said.

He insisted that inviting residents to collectively withhold lawfully determined charges directly translates to unlawful incitement to disregard a statutory obligation.

“The City unequivocally rejects and condemns the call for a payment boycott. Payment for municipal services is not a voluntary undertaking. Council determines the fees, charges and other moneys payable for services under section 30(1)(u) of the Local Authorities Act, 1992 (Act 23 of 1992), and the Act further provides, in section 78, that the owner of immovable property is liable for arrear fees,
charges and other moneys due to a Council in respect of any service. Council’s Credit Control Policy, which governs the measures now being implemented,” Matyayi further cautioned.

With the city firmly refusing to pause its Credit Control Policy, the enforcement of mass water and electricity disconnections is expected to intensify across the capital in the coming weeks.

Matyayi argued that allowing the N$932.7 million debt to swell further through a payment strike would completely compromise the City’s ability to procure bulk electricity and clean water, eventually leaving it with no choice but to aggressively pursue defaulting accounts.

“The City also rejects the assertion that it has no debt recovery framework. The mass disconnection exercise forms part of that framework, which is designed to secure financial sustainability and the equitable treatment of all account holders. The City further rejects the claim that its billing system is defective. The City urges residents not to participate in, support or promote any payment boycott, and not to tamper with meters or reconnect services that have been lawfully discontinued…”

“The consequences of a payment boycott would not be confined to defaulters. Revenue collected from municipal accounts is what enables the City to procure bulk water and electricity from its suppliers, to maintain and repair reticulation networks, to remove refuse and to keep the city’s infrastructure functioning. Widespread non-payment would erode the City’s ability to meet its obligations to bulk suppliers and contractors and would place the continuity of supply at risk.”

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