Pensioners in Okahandja are finding it hard to cope with their high municipal debts. 

The arrears date back to the time before prepaid electricity and water. Now that RedForce has come into the picture, the elderly say it will be impossible to settle the debts. 

These are Susanna Top and Daniel Paulse. They are some of the many pensioners drowning in municipal debt at Okahandja's Nau-Aib location. 

They claim that, after they reached arrears of about N$60,000, the municipality handed over their account to a debt collector, RedForce. 

They now owe over N$77,000, and even though they arranged to pay N$2,000 every month, the pensioners are finding it hard to keep to the agreement. 

After numerous phone calls from the debt collectors, the couple, in a desperate attempt, came up with a solution. 

They say they have been receiving numerous threats from RedForce.

Even though the pensioners have been paying off what they can, the amount is not enough to make a significant difference. 

Immanuel Namubeb is another pensioner up to his ears in municipal debt. 

Namubeb and his wife hardly know how much they owe. In 2020, their bill was over N$78,000, and their latest statement dated October 15, 2023, is over N$121,000.

When Maria Kaitjirokere inherited the house from her mother, municipal bills were already in arrears. 

She owed N$49,000 before RedForce, but it went to N$60,000 after the debt collector became involved. 

She pays N$600 per month, but that has not made any dent in the amount. 

RedForce has been making headlines with residents in various parts of the country protesting against their debt collection methods. The company, however, revealed that they have so far collected close to a billion dollars for municipalities countrywide.

Questions sent to the CEO of Okahandja Municipality went unanswered.