Mathebula made the remarks this week in response to the City Of Johannesburg’s 2015/2016 budget which was presented by Member of the Mayoral Committee councillor Geoffrey Makhubo.
Read about the budget speech R52.6 billion budget for City
Makhubo proposed a refuse removal services increase of 8 percent for domestic, business and commercial customers, and an average tariff electricity increase of 12.9 percent. He also announced that the water and sewerage tariff will go up by 14 percent.
Mathebula said the increases were not the solution to the City’s woes. She said the city council should rather increase efficiency in the revenue collection for services rendered to residents.
“In Diepsloot, it is known that illegal connections are rampant. People are getting electricity for free and who is paying for the electricity bills incurred through illegal connections?” asked Mathebula.
Turning to water issues, Mathebula said the council was losing a lot of revenue through water leaks in Diepsloot.
“A lot of old water pipes are bursting, leading to loss of water in high volumes. This is costly. The council must curb this by replacing the old pipes,” said Mathebula.
She also said free water from street water taps in Diepsloot was costing the city council a fortune.
Mathebula revealed that the main road in Diepsloot needed to be repaired annually at exorbitant costs because the semi-tarred street was forever being washed away every rain season.
“Millions are being budgeted every year for this road, but it is washed away every rain season. The council is not getting the value of the money which is being poured into the maintenance of this road,” said Mathebula.
Are the city council’s tariff increases on services delivery justified? Share your views on the Fourways Review Facebook page
