Only five out of 59 local authority councils respond to Sankwasa’s directive on elderly municipal debt write-off’s 

By: Staff Reporter 

Minister of Urban and Rural Development, James Sankwasa, has criticised local authorities for poor responsiveness, revealing that only five of Namibia’s 59 councils submitted data on outstanding municipal bills owed by elderly residents for possible write-offs. 

He made the remarks during a public engagement in the Kunene Region on Wednesday. 

Sankwasa said the failure is delaying government efforts to ease financial pressure on elderly residents and to clear COVID-era municipal arrears. 

He said he issued a directive in 2025 instructing all local authorities to submit outstanding debts owed by elderly residents so they can be considered for write-offs, but only five councils complied. 

He added he repeated the instruction earlier this year, calling for COVID-period municipal debts to be separated from post-pandemic arrears so the government can assess possible relief measures. 

Sankwasa accused councils of slowing down implementation through non-response, warning that the government cannot move at the pace it wants if local authorities fail to cooperate. 

He also raised broader concerns over land delivery, saying land is increasingly being allocated to wealthier applicants while poorer residents are left behind. 

Sankwasa further criticised banks for relying heavily on payslips instead of actual income patterns, arguing this excludes informal traders with viable earnings from accessing land and housing finance. 

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