SPEC grateful for N$191 million City gesture

WINDHOEK, 07 JUL  – The Swapo Party Elders Council (SPEC) thanked the City of Windhoek (CoW) for its decision to write off N.dollars 191 million of pensioners and vulnerable residents’ debt and urged other local authorities to follow suit.
The CoW Council agreed during a meeting in June to write off the debts deemed irrecoverable and in respect of pensioners and vulnerable residents who are unable to pay the arrears amount on their municipal accounts.
The money, according to the CoW is part of over N.dollars 600 million owed to it.
The gratitude was expressed by SPEC Secretary Mukwaita Shanyengana during a press conference in the capital on Friday.
“SPEC appreciates this humanitarian decision as a step in the right direction,” said Shanyengana.
To show their appreciation, the elders council gave a certificate, a trophy and a letter to Mayor, Muesee Kazapua who represented the City.
Shanyengana indicated that already in 2012 and again in 2017, they made a submission at Swapo’s elective congresses to have elderly citizen debts written off at least by 25 per cent.
“We proposed a 25 per cent write off, but the City, with its youthful mayor went as far as scrapping 100 per cent. Omake to the municipality. We appreciate what they have done,” said Shanyengana.
Accepting the token, Kazapua equally thanked SPEC for being the first elderly representative body to express thankfulness to the City.
“We have become unpopular because of the demand. People want houses. They want land. They want free services. We have taken this decision on the basis of your plight. It was not an easy decision,” he expressed.
The mayor then urged the elderly and vulnerable residents of Windhoek to educate the youth on the prudent use of electricity and water to avoid the same from happening in the future.
The municipality is in the process of introducing prepaid water metres for the pensioners who were in arrears. This process is at a pilot stage.
At the end of the process, the City anticipates to install over 50 000 prepaid electricity metres, Kazapua added.
The same will be done with water in the near future, Kazapua added.
(NAMPA)