City of Windhoek (CoW) Mayor, Joseph Uapingene has called on residents to familiarise themselves with the relevant amendments to the Local Authorities Act, while the City is exploring various debt management methods.

Uapingene said this in response to a petition submitted by the Katutura Residents Committee, recently, demanding the removal of the Redforce debt collection company.

The mayor in a media statement availed to Nampa explained that CoW is bound by legal mandates such as the Prescription Act and interest charges as per the Local Authorities Act and can therefore not freeze interest on arrears as it pleases.

He said for pensioners’ payment arrangements, the City has decided to charge only a 15 per cent down payment instead of the 33 per cent required as per CoW’s credit control policy.

According to Uapingene, no pensioners’ residential property accounts have been handed over to the Redforce debt management company and no interest is charged on accounts handed over to Redforce for all residents except for the collection fee of 10 per cent of each payment made.

“The City is currently working on a proposal to write off debts for pensioners and interest for all residents. However, this process must be executed with caution to ensure long-term sustainability,” he said.

He noted that Redforce is currently the viable option for debt collection on behalf of the City and the City charges 20 per cent per annum on arrears, while Redforce charges only 10 per cent on amounts paid.

Moreover, prior to the appointment of Redforce, clients’ accounts were handed over to attorneys for further debt collection, which proved to be expensive and provided no guarantee of financial benefit to CoW or the client, he concluded.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency