The Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Carl Schlettwein, says a request to write off debts of N$56 million by two town councils could cripple NamWater.
The request was made by the Okakarara and Otavi town councils for debt incurred due to poor revenue collection from rates and taxes.
Schlettwein said it's not a feasible decision to write off debt as it would financially cripple the water utility.
Namwater is owed N$637 million in debt. Of this, Okakarara and Otavi owe more than N$14 million and N$41 million, respectively.
"That solution to just wipe off and shift the whole problem to Namwater will create an even bigger problem. It's not sustainable. The government is seized with that matter as debt, not only for Namwater but also for Nampower, is high. How do we solve a situation where we free local authorities to such an extent that they are completely restricted in their development? This is what these debts are currently doing. They are so severe that for small local authorities like yours, the burden is so high that if you honour their plans, you are crippled financially and you can't do anything. That's not a solution that is equally sustainable."
Okakarara Mayor, Olga Tjiurutue, attributed the town's debt to the ailing water reticulation network, whose pipes break on the truck every other time.
"Despite being partially replaced in 2014-2015, pipes on the trunk and distribution continue to contribute to water losses. Currently, Okakarara Town Council experiences over 60% of unaccounted water, of which over 40% is a result of ageing infrastructure and another 20% is attributed to faulty metering and illegal connections."
On his part, Otavi's mayor, Isaac !Hoaeb, asked for the debt to be written off and the council to be connected to the Otavi-Kombat aquifer to lessen the burden and sell directly to consumers.
Schlettwein says parliament is looking into a submission to assist local authorities to upgrade their water infrastructure and the implementation of a system to improve revenue and debt collections.
"We must find out, honestly, what the ability to pay is in each local authority. If it is zero, well, that's an exceptional case, but then you must accept it. But if it is 100%, then the local authority must also accept it and then live up to its obligations. So let's distinguish where the ability to pay threshold sits and to what extent we can shift the responsibility to satisfy and create an amicable solution."
The minister and his delegation also visited the different water infrastructures in the two towns to acquaint themselves with the challenges facing the local authorities.