Otjiwarongo marches against delays in writing off pensioners’ debts
Residents of Otjiwarongo, Namibia, protested against the local municipality over delays and alleged favoritism in a government program to write off pensioners' debts. The municipality has promised to review the petition and respond by next week.
Why it matters
It reflects local governance tensions regarding social welfare programs and municipal financial management.
Otjiwarongo residents on Thursday staged a demonstration over the municipality’s alleged delays in writing off pensioners’ accumulated debt.
In their petition, the demonstrators claimed they were in possession of a written directive from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development instructing the Otjiwarongo Municipality to compile a list of pensioners struggling to pay their rates and taxes.
“However, to our surprise, the municipality has excluded some pensioners qualifying for this government initiative,” the group says in its petition.
The group has also accused some local authority councillors of listing only pensioners who are their acquaintances and called on the ministry to intervene and extend the deadline, which was set for 31 August, to allow their grievances to be addressed.
They further demand that the municipality respond to their concerns by 8 September.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in