The Keetmanshoop Municipality has written off municipal debts totalling N$75 million for senior citizens, the unemployed, and people with disabilities. 

The municipality's Public Relations Officer, Monica Imene, said more than 600 senior citizens benefited from the debt relief initiative, which was approved by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development.

"We sent out a public notice from the 20th of May to the 23rd of June to survey various documents that were requested from the residents to bring forward. And based on those applications, then they determined who would have their debts written off. But, basically, from all the applications that we have received, almost everyone who had been on that list had their debts written off." 

Imene explained the criteria used in establishing beneficiaries of debt relief. "I believe we were just looking for deceased persons; obviously, they are no longer alive. The name is still under the deceased person, so they are not able to pay rates and taxes. So those ones qualify for that. We also look for pensioners, as their pension grants always cover rates and taxes. Those who are unemployed are also included. With those, they just had to bring forward the kind of situation they are in and just write it off." 

NBC News spoke with residents to gauge their reactions to the debt relief:

“This is an awesome thing. I know people in church whose debts were written off, and it was a heavy burden for many. It’s a blessing for those who couldn’t afford to pay, giving them some breathing room,” said one resident.

Another commented, “Given the high unemployment rate and economic challenges, this is a helpful relief, but I wonder how future debts will be managed.”

A pensioner expressed gratitude, stating, “This is a very good initiative. We feel thankful as pensioners.”

Others noted, “It’s only fair. Unemployed people can barely survive on the little money they have, so expecting them to pay rates is unreasonable.”