Failure to pay NamWater around N$260 000 in unpaid debts has forced the Opuwo Council to make the drastic threat of repossessing houses unless residents pay up.

Opuwo Mayor Uaurikua Kakuva, who is also the principal of a primary school at the town, describes the situation as "really terrible".

He says pupils have to relieve themselves in the bush because there is no water to flush toilets.

"It is not really positive taking houses from the people.

We want to negotiate with residents to pay, but we have to teach them that if they are not willing to pay, they can lose their houses.

It is not like we want to become the lion and take their houses," said Kakuva.

The Opuwo Town Council entered into a prepayment agreement with NamWater last year already, and the supply was gradually reduced because of non-payment.

At present, the water is only turned on for about an hour in the early morning and again for about two hours in the evening.

A community meeting was held on Monday at which the council pleaded with residents to pay up.

Kakuva could not immediately say how much residents owed the council, but said it had been calculated that 28 residents alone were in debt to the council to the tune of half a million dollars.

He said the council had come to an agreement with residents that they would settle their debts to within three months.

Kakuva said the council had also entered into agreements with individuals who did not have much money.

He said the council was struggling to change the mind-set of many residents who have never paid for services and who have never experienced the consequences of not doing so.

Kakuva said the poor quality of water also made it difficult to convince residents to pay for it, but that on the other hand the town could not expect to enter into discussions with NamWater to improve the supply, if it wasn't paying for its provision.

Kakuva said he himself preferred to draw water from boreholes and other sources because, in his opinion, the water was "unusable" and made children sick.

For years Opuwo residents have complained about the brackishness of water at the town.

Kunene Regional Governor Dudu Murorua told The Namibian that the situation was having a very negative effect on the abattoir and other businesses, and that he has had to deal with several complaints.

The Regional Council now faces the task of ensuring that residents pay for water they presently fetch from settlement areas which pay the regional council for their supply.

The hospital at the town has to fill its huge tankers when the supply is opened to ensure they have enough to use during the day.

Businesses have entered into an agreement with the Roads Contractor Company, which buys directly from NamWater, to buy water from them.

"It's only human that people won't pay for a service if they know they are not going to be cut off," said Murorua.