Henties council defends acting CEO amid prepaid water dispute

The Henties Bay municipal council has issued a media statement defending its acting chief executive officer, Ignasia Neis, and clarifying the facts surrounding the recent collapse of the town’s prepaid water vending system.

The move comes after recent public remarks attributed to the minister of urban and rural development, James Sankwasa and media reports, allegedly created the impression that the challenges faced by the municipality were the result of failures by a single official.

The council stated the recent crisis, which left residents unable to purchase prepaid water, was caused when the contractor, Item Engineering CC, unilaterally suspended the system during an ongoing contractual dispute.

“The matter arose when Item Engineering CC unilaterally suspended the prepaid water vending system during an ongoing contractual payment dispute,” the Council clarified.