Residents of Saamstaan in the Goreangab informal settlement are pleading with the City of Windhoek to consider writing off the debts of pensioners and those who are unemployed.

The community owes the City of Windhoek about N$1 million, mainly accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking during a community meeting at the weekend, Rencia Kooper, a resident at the site, also requested the installation of pre-paid water meters, saying being charged as a group is expensive and inconvenient.

Kooper says although they have access to water, electricity still remains a pipedream for them ever since they were settled there in 1987 by the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia, without access to basic services.

Meanwhile, a fellow resident, Edith Mbanga, says the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic placed a heavy burden on their pockets and ability to pay for basic services.

Mbanga also raised concern with the distribution of free water tokens, saying they were left out of the benefits.

In a recent submission in the National Assembly, parliamentarian Henny Seibeb urged Namibia's water utility, NamWater, to consider scrapping historical debt owed by residents.

According to Seibeb, debt owed to NamWater stands at N$1.4 billion, of which N$600 million is owed by the local authorities.