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Namibia: PM Adds Voice to Windhoek City Rates
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New Era (Windhoek)
3 July 2008
Posted to the web 3 July 2008
Irene !hoaës
Windhoek
Prime Minister Nahas Angula says the City of Windhoek should not have increased its rates so substantially, taking into account the current economic difficulties.
"Government had tried to assist but I can see the city has increased its rates," Angula said.
The Premier said the public should now demand to know from the city how it is going to use all that money.
"If not benefiting the poor, like providing water and sanitation to the informal areas, then it should re-look its decision," the PM noted.
Angula said the city should have made the increment in stages, by perhaps looking only at property owners.
The city, however, during the tabling of the budget noted that provision of sanitation to informal settlements would be prioritised, while also providing basic services to all residents.
During the tabling of the city's budget on Monday, the city hinted at a subsidy from the Government in order to ease the burden on the consumers.
The City of Windhoek is said to be the only one in the region that does not receive a Government subsidy, unlike other capital cities in the SADC region.
Angula, however, dismissed this notion, saying a subsidy means passing the buck onto the taxpayer, meaning people have to pay higher taxes in order for the city to be subsidised.
The Premier said instead, the city must look at the high salaries it pays its employees.
"They overpay the City Police, making the Namibian Police outrageous! What do the City Police do that the Namibian Police don't do?" charged Angula.
Local economist, Daniel Motinga, also shared similar sentiments, criticising the city for what he termed the very high salaries that municipal employees receive.
"People live in deplorable conditions. It does not help to impose sharp increments on things like water, which is a basic service so much needed," the Prime Minister added.
Electricity is up by 12,3 percent, water by 10 percent, sewerage by 12,0 percent, while bus fares have increased to six dollars from the current five dollars.
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Many think that the hikes in basic service charges may reverse the gains that would have accrued to locals as a result of the value added tax cut that the Government introduced recently.
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