uMhlanga cllr slams proposed water tariff increases

A WEEK after a Somerset Park resident highlighted his frustrations regarding poor service delivery in Tamarind Close around an issue of an almost constantly leaking pipe, the municipality has proposed an increase in water tariffs.

During the Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee meeting this morning, the municipality proposed a 6.8 per cent increase for water tariffs, while water deposits would increase by 9.9 per cent.

However, uMhlanga ward councillor, Heinz de Boer, has slammed the proposal, saying that the eThekwini Municipality would have been able to budget for a zero per cent increase had it effectively dealt with the reported water losses.

“Had the city been serious about water loss we would not have to increase tariffs and further burden eThekwini residents. We can no longer abide contractors who do a bad job on repairing pipes. Our budget cannot tolerate long waiting periods for plumbers to respond to bursts. And we cannot continue to have some businesses and hundreds of residents tapping into our water network illegally,” he said.

In December, the city’s water loss figures hovered around 43 per cent. The 2013/2014 auditor-general report also revealed that last year’s water losses, caused by vandalism, burst water pipes and illegal water connections, amounted to more than R600-million.

De Boer added, “The continual shuffling of the budgets and perpetual increases are a symptom of a department and a city that is in trouble financially.” He called for the municipality to shift their focus towards efforts that would save and collect the lost water revenue.

In June last year residents were also plagued by a constant bursting pipe in Davallen Avenue in La Lucia which contributed in a major way to the city’s escalating water loss problem. According to residents the pipe had burst five times in four weeks.