Debt collectors could spark riots, analyst warns
Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah has warned against the current trend of local authorities enlisting debt collectors to recover money owed by residents, urging municipalities to take a more humane approach.
He cautioned that employing profit-driven debt collection companies is insensitive and dehumanising.
Oshakati, Rundu, Katima Mulilo and Windhoek - amongst others - have made use of debt collectors to recover unpaid debt from defaulting municipal customers.
“I think there should be a more compassionate approach, at least for a mechanism to be developed such as an internal payment plan. Maybe make it a little bit longer and based on their income. I think it is time to be innovative and creative,” he said.
Local authorities’ decision to enlist debt collectors comes at a time when they are unable to pay off their debts to creditors such as NamWater and NamPower.
However, Kamwanyah argued that local authorities should apply a more compassionate approach and should instead engage the defaulters and develop a strategy based on the challenges that lead to unpaid utility bills.
“I think it is not advisable for the local authorities and municipalities to outsource services to recover the monies they are owed by residents.”
Makes it worse
“A collaborative approach will be in the best interest of everybody. The thing of sending debt collectors, who are profit-making organisations that we know add interest and aggravate the situation for the resident - that in itself can lead to riots like we have seen in dire situations when countries are very prone to riots and boycotts and all those types of things,” he warned.
Kamwanyah said debt collectors can worsen the situations of persons who are already struggling to make ends meet.
“It adds another level of depression and stress on the societal level, especially people who are faced with such situations,” he argued.
He cautioned: “We have to learn to treat people in a more humane manner. We have a high poverty level; we have a lot of children who are sleeping without eating, and then you go to that breadwinner, and you take the extra money that the person was going to use to make sure there is food on the table. That person now has to pay it as interest because the municipality enlisted a third party because of their own inability to come up with an internal system and processes to make sure they recover the money”.
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He cautioned that employing profit-driven debt collection companies is insensitive and dehumanising.
Oshakati, Rundu, Katima Mulilo and Windhoek - amongst others - have made use of debt collectors to recover unpaid debt from defaulting municipal customers.
“I think there should be a more compassionate approach, at least for a mechanism to be developed such as an internal payment plan. Maybe make it a little bit longer and based on their income. I think it is time to be innovative and creative,” he said.
Local authorities’ decision to enlist debt collectors comes at a time when they are unable to pay off their debts to creditors such as NamWater and NamPower.
However, Kamwanyah argued that local authorities should apply a more compassionate approach and should instead engage the defaulters and develop a strategy based on the challenges that lead to unpaid utility bills.
“I think it is not advisable for the local authorities and municipalities to outsource services to recover the monies they are owed by residents.”
Makes it worse
“A collaborative approach will be in the best interest of everybody. The thing of sending debt collectors, who are profit-making organisations that we know add interest and aggravate the situation for the resident - that in itself can lead to riots like we have seen in dire situations when countries are very prone to riots and boycotts and all those types of things,” he warned.
Kamwanyah said debt collectors can worsen the situations of persons who are already struggling to make ends meet.
“It adds another level of depression and stress on the societal level, especially people who are faced with such situations,” he argued.
He cautioned: “We have to learn to treat people in a more humane manner. We have a high poverty level; we have a lot of children who are sleeping without eating, and then you go to that breadwinner, and you take the extra money that the person was going to use to make sure there is food on the table. That person now has to pay it as interest because the municipality enlisted a third party because of their own inability to come up with an internal system and processes to make sure they recover the money”.
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