City’s proposed water tariff increase slammed by uMhlanga cllr

TWO weeks after a Somerset Park resident highlighted his frustrations on poor service delivery in Tamarind Close, regarding an almost constantly leaking pipe, the municipality has proposed an increase in water tariffs.

During the Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee meeting held recently, 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 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 at around 43 per cent. The 2013/14 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.

eThekwini Head of Communications, Tozi Mthethwa, confirmed that the city was losing 237 million litres a day due to illegal water connections, vandalism and leaks. But she insisted that some residents do not report these leaks timeously.

“KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Senzo Mchunu, and MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, are acutely aware of challenges faced by the municipality and have supported the various projects and educational initiatives, such as ‘War On Leaks’, which are aimed at educating communities on water saving and to report water leaks,” she said

She added, “All water tariff increases are determined by the municipality’s treasury unit, and decisions to increase tariffs are taken after consultations with various line departments within the municipality and are approved by council.”

In June last year residents were also plagued by a constantly 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 burst five times in four weeks.