NamWater plans to have all local authorities and village councils connected to prepaid bulk water meters by 2027 as the utility moves to tackle mounting debt and strengthen revenue collection.
The state-owned water utility has already begun rolling out the system in Rehoboth, Aranos and other parts of southern Namibia, with further installations planned across the country.
Under the new model, municipalities and village councils will be required to pay for water before receiving supply from NamWater, effectively shifting the utility to a prepaid bulk water system.
NamWater Acting Chief of Strategy and Corporate Affairs Irwin Haihambo said the initiative is aimed at improving payment discipline and preventing the accumulation of unpaid accounts.
“Right now, we want to roll out at bulk level. Meaning municipalities or village councils will have to get water from us at prepaid level,” Haihambo told The Brief.
The rollout comes as NamWater faces growing pressure from unpaid customer accounts, with outstanding debt reaching N$2.8 billion.
Haihambo said the prepaid system is already operational in some areas and forms part of a broader strategy to improve the utility’s financial sustainability.
“It’s live and we are rolling out in Rehoboth, Aranos, the south of the country and other areas in the pipeline,” he said.
The corporation is also exploring the expansion of prepaid metering to end-users through collaboration with local authorities and government institutions.
According to Haihambo, the move will reduce the risk of debt accumulation by ensuring customers only consume water that has already been paid for.
“What are the benefits of this? It means that we don’t have these big debts that we have now. Then you pay as you go and you pay for what you get,” he said.
NamWater expects the transition to be largely complete within the next two years.
“Probably by 2027, all councils and all village councils must be on prepaid meters, at bulk level and also at customer level,” Haihambo said.
The prepaid rollout coincides with a broader debt recovery campaign by the utility.
Last month, NamWater warned that customers with accounts more than 60 days in arrears risk having their water supply disconnected if they fail to enter into repayment agreements.
“Customers who have outstanding balances beyond 60 days and have not entered into a repayment arrangement will face service disconnection,” NamWater Head of Public Relations and Corporate Communications Lot Ndamanomhata said.
Customers seeking repayment arrangements are required to make an upfront payment of at least 30% of the outstanding balance, with the remainder payable over a period of up to 12 months, subject to approval.
NamWater says the measures are necessary to safeguard the sustainability of water supply services while improving accountability and revenue collection across the sector.
