RedForce saga grips Walvis council meeting

Source: New Era Live

WALVIS BAY - The resistance against RedForce Debt Management, a debt collector for outstanding rates and taxes nationwide, continues to stir up turmoil in municipalities and councils.

Residents are exerting pressure on councils to abolish the use of a debt collector.

On Tuesday, a small group of Walvis Bay residents disrupted the re-election process of office bearers that took place that afternoon at the council chambers.

The protest followed the cancellation earlier this month of a series of meetings, scheduled with the community, to discuss the bone of contention, RedForce. During the nominations for the management committee, the group raised posters from the public gallery and demanded that the council do away with RedForce.

The uproar also led to the re-elected deputy mayor Saara Mutondoka, engaging in a war of words with fellow councillor Albertina Nkoshi after telling the protestors, some of whom were donning Swapo regalia, to pay the political party's outstanding water debt.

"Pay your N$20 000; you owe us... Swapo office," she said.

This irked Nkoshi, who accused the deputy mayor of breaching client confidentiality.

"They are not here as Swapo members but as concerned community members. This is very unprofessional of you, as deputy mayor," Nkoshi charged.

Raising his voice during the protest, pensioner Kikkie Kleinsmith also told the councillors they have no confidence in how they are running the affairs of the council, and that they are discriminating against poor community members. "Administrative bodies and officials, meaning the municipality and government officials, shall act fairly and reasonably and comply with requirements imposed upon such bodies and officials by common law or any other legislation. A person aggrieved by the exercise of such acts and the decision shall have the right to seek redress before a competent court or tribunal," Kleinsmith said.

According to him, the council contradicts Article 18 of the Constitution and Article 10 which states that no person may be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed, or social and economic status.

"Social economic status means we don't have money to take you to court. Hence, you are discriminating against us, the poor of the community, and we have concluded that people on the ground are controlling the management, the councils, and the mayor what he has been, and we are going to put a motion of no confidence against you," Kleinsmith said.

Another resident then accused the municipality of breach of privacy as they did not give them the right to share his private details. According to him, he was not consulted nor was he notified by the municipality that his personal information would be shared with a third party, RedForce.

"There was no communication in terms of that between me and the municipality. I also did not sign any document for consent; hence I am seeking legal advice on how to take them on," the resident said.

Spokesperson for the municipality, Anita Kaihiva, addressed the issue, stating that the municipality follows an approved policy, as is a widespread practice in Namibia, for the collection of arrears.

According to her, the policy guides the decision-making process on when and how to hand over accounts to external debt collectors.

"Residents' personal details and billing information are shared with the third-party debt collector as part of this process, and it is outlined in our policy to facilitate the efficient collection of overdue payments. We would like to emphasise that the municipality operates within a legal framework, and we have not found any legislation or case law in Namibia prohibiting such actions. If any discrepancies during the debt collection process are identified, we are committed to addressing them and improving our communication with residents," she explained.

Urban and Rural Development minister, Erastus Uutoni, during a visit to Walvis Bay earlier this month, also expressed his disappointment over the appointment of RedForce by municipalities and councils, saying that better consultation and meetings with residents should take place to encourage them to pay their debts. He also questioned the fact that municipalities have departments that are equipped to deal with debt management and that they should be given the task.

"They don't want to have meetings and inform communities, but when the person has accrued too much debt, you invite the person to the office or to a public meeting. Invite your sister, brother, and community and speak to them for arrangements. But putting an agency to help will not solve the issue. The added interest is a lot for a person that is already suffering and not earning a lot," Uutoni said.

He added that recouping debt without adding interest would be one way of encouraging residents to pay, as many are discouraged by the huge amounts and added interest while not earning much.

Meanwhile Walvis Bay mayor, Trevino Forbes told the protestors that council took note of their grievances.