CONTROVERSY over huge arrears owed to the City of Windhoek by politicians and other errant ratepayers has brought the municipality Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Niilo Taapopi before the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).

The ACC this week summoned Taapopi to appear before the commission over the implementation of its credit control policy, which has seen senior politicians and public figures incurred debts of up to N$542,000 in total over a period of five years.
The Municipality’s credit control policy, which seems aggressive on the poor and soft on the elite, has resulted in revenue leaks of N$5 million per month, and the current city debt in unpaid rates stands at an estimated N$250 million.
The ACC ordered Taapopi to submit copies of all municipal bills for the past three years starting from 2005 for its investigation into the uncollected arrears owed by senior politicians and other defaulters.
“I have been summoned to appear before the commission the third of June, they want all the bills from 2005 to determine whether we have followed the credit control policy or not. I want to allow the investigation to take place,” said Taapopi.
The City of Windhoek reviewed its credit control policy in 2005 to tighten revenue collection systems and plug loopholes, but the policy clearly has not worked, with some ratepayers owing the city over a period of five years.
Informanté last week published the arrears statements of nine senior politicians who owed the city a sum of N$542,000, leading to the ACC investigation. Most of the politicians, with the exception of a few, have since settled their arrears.