Martin Endjala
Municipal bills of all pensioners at Walvis Bay worth 6.7 million dollars are to be written off with immediate effect, as a way to relief elderly people from spiking municipal bills.
This action was taken by the municipality because pensioners are unable to pay for their accounts due to the general economic difficulties in the country.
Walvis Bay local authority councilor Ryan Gordon shared the news with the Windhoek Observer today.
Gordon, stated that the late LPM local councilor Alfredo Stanely Bikeur tabled the motion in the council chamber to give amnesty to all pensioners in Walvis Bay, after learning that the Independent Patriots of Change councilor had tabled a similar motion, it then prompted him to pursue the motion, which is almost two years that the council have not done anything about it.
“Both LPM and IPC did not oppose the motion and we therefore did not see any reason why it should not be done”, Gordon said.
This was done to help give relief to the people who have been battling with paying their municipal bills particularly pensioners who had to utilize their social grants income to cater for themselves and their family.
Gordon stressed that the two parties agreed on this course of action united by the needs of the people and the town and not because of political expediency.
“When we enter the council chamber, we do not enter as politicians or LPM and IPC members, but as concerned leaders to bring development to our communities, and since the issue of land is still an ongoing battle, we thought of ensuring doing away with the accumulating water bills of pensioners as the first step,’’ Gordon motivated.
The LPM held a press conference last Friday, where they outlined several motions to be tabled, as the party intends to provide housing at the town.
With Gordon as particularly concerned about pensioner water bills that were standing at astronomical figures of around N$100 000 to N$200 000, that was as a result of pipe sewage burst or leaks, which the municipal plumbers came to repair but did not bring the accounts down.
Gordon believes that elderly people should be assisted and not be burdened with debt during times of economic difficulties.
During the conference Gordon pointed out that, he has been a councilor for eight months during which not much has been done to provide service land to the people for housing.
