The minister confirmed the municipality's inability to pay staff, citing mismanagement and refusing a bailout.
Keetmanshoop municipality is unable to pay its employees for October, confirmed Urban and Rural Development Minister James Sankwasa. The municipality faces nearly N$100 million in debt to NamWater and has outstanding resident payments exceeding N$84 million. Sankwasa stated the ministry will not provide a bailout, attributing the crisis to the council's actions and questioning the recent travel of three councillors to Cape Town without approval.
The financial distress follows the municipality's use of Build Together Project funds and money owed by the Keetmanshoop Electricity Business Unit to cover September salaries for over 250 employees. A council resolution from September 21, 2026, revealed insufficient funds in the Main Cheque Account to meet the payroll deadline. This temporary measure has not resolved the ongoing financial crisis, leading to the current inability to pay October wages.
Sources suggest that campaign promises made by the Landless People’s Movement during the 2020 elections may have contributed to the debt, with allegations that some residents stopped paying utility bills after being promised free services. The municipality's debt to NamWater has significantly increased since before the Covid-19 pandemic, partly due to providing water as a public health measure to suspended accounts.
Why it mattersMunicipal employees are affected because they will not receive their October salaries.
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