Resident allegedly asked for bribe by Joburg Water officials
MELVILLE – Retired resident gets water turned off for days.
A retired resident from Melville allegedly had his water cut off and asked for a bribe to put it back on immediately.
The man who has been residing in Melville for 15 years and who asked to stay anonymous said that two men from Joburg Water came to his house on 14 January and gave him an official letter stating that he owes R8 444.82 on his rates account. This came as a shock to the resident as he paid his rates every month.
These two men came in an unmarked blue vehicle without any sort of uniform, name badges or identification. They allegedly switched off his water from his meter on his pavement and said that the resident can pay R1 000 that will be split between them, and the man who issued the paper from the office to make the water come back immediately. One of the men said that his name was Ronald Molamedi but did not have an ID to show and the other man sat in the car. He however had an ID that the resident took a photo of.
While the man asked for the bribe, he said to the resident that he is the man who will have to put his water back on whether he pays the R1 000 now, or the R8 444.82 later.
The resident made some calls and found out that his bill was actually about R2 000 which he paid immediately via EFT with a R1 500 connection fee for his water. The resident’s water was off for three days and his tenants were not happy about the situation as they had already paid for rent.
The resident managed to take a photo of the man claiming to be Molamedi.
Joburg Water spokesperson David Sibiya said, “Residents must get a pre-cut notification letter from Joburg Water before they have their water cut off.” This will allow residents to make payment arrangements before they get cut off. He also said that there have been complaints about residents being asked for bribes, he advised them to call the Joburg Water tip-off line on 080 000 2587 or send a tip-off SMS to 32840. The photo of the man claiming to be Molamedi has been sent to Sibiya and Joburg Water will do further investigations. “Joburg Water officials should always be in a marked vehicle with ID,” Sibiya concluded.
Related articles:
Water meter theft a huge problem
