Iuze Mukube

Wena Investments CC, a corporation based in Walvis Bay, has called for a formal investigation into what it describes as recurring errors that have resulted in the municipality disconnecting its water supply under an incorrect municipal account.

The corporation claims that, after 12 years, its water supply has once again been disconnected by the Walvis Bay Municipality over a municipal account linked to a third party, which carried a debt of approximately N$10 301.20.

A similar situation occurred in April 2014, the company says, and at the time the municipality allegedly attempted to transfer two accounts totalling N$14 653.79 belonging to the same third party to its own municipal account.

While the mistake was reversed in May 2014, the same situation occurred 12 years later, leaving 17 of its apartments, three offices and four businesses without water, disconnected purportedly on the strength of the same third party’s account.

RedForce Debt Management CC issued a notice in July 2026 for the suspension of water supply, and the company claims the disconnection affected numerous occupants and tenants and deprived them of water for basic needs.

The entity claims that its water was disconnected despite its municipal account being fully paid and that it had no relationship with the third party, identified only as Mr Van Rensburg, and that said individual is neither connected to Wena nor a tenant at its property.

A representative of the entity purportedly approached the municipality over the issue but was allegedly told that it would be difficult to retrieve the documentation needed to verify the municipality’s records.

Wena said in a media statement that the situation cannot be dismissed as a once-off administrative oversight.

It says the municipality had identified the same mistake in 2014 and had rectified it, so now it must explain how the same account was again used to disconnect its water supply 12 years later.

Moreover, Wena took the Municipal Council of Walvis Bay and its debt collector, RedForce, to court on an urgent application following the disconnection of water supply to the entity’s properties in an attempt to allegedly recover debt belonging to another person.

The Court ruled in its favour in a rule nisi previously issued on 3 September 2026, ordering the Municipality to restrain from disconnecting Wena’s water supply in respect of amounts allegedly due and owing under the municipal account belonging to another party, and from allocating amounts due to that account under Wena’s account.

The corporation added the municipality did not oppose the confirmation of the rule nisi and did not provide an explanation for the disconnection, despite a similar error having occurred in 2014.

The municipality, according to Wena, failed to provide an explanation before the court as to who authorised the disconnection, what verification was conducted beforehand, why its fully paid account was disregarded, how an earlier error was allowed to recure, what role RedForce played and why the matter was not resolved before Wena was forced to approach the court.

Despite the lack of an explanation, Wena said the municipality must now pay its legal costs from municipal resources. “No explanation, but ratepayers must pay the cost,” it bemoaned.

The entity continued the matter is of legitimate public interest, particularly in relation to municipal accountability, debt-collection procedures, the disconnection of essential municipal services and the expenditure of public funds on litigation.

The entity is therefore demanding a formal investigation into the recurrence of the error, saying the municipality must account for how essentially the same mistake was allowed to occur again 12 years later and a full disclosure of the total litigation cost to rate payers.

The investigation should also determine whether similar action has been taken against other residents or businesses on the strength of incorrect or historical accounts, says Wena.

Additionally, to finally put measures in place to ensure that essential services are not disconnected for a debt belonging to an unrelated person.

“This is not a call for a witch-hunt. It is a call for transparent and responsible municipal governance,” said Wena.