No water, no payment say thirsty South Coasters

Fed-up South Coasters have threatened to withhold water payments to Ugu District Municipality from the end of this month due to the ongoing and widespread disruption to supply.

Some consumers feel they should not be expected to pay for a service which is at best intermittent, while others claim their accounts have doubled since the water crisis began despite, they say, not having received a single drop of water from their taps.

ALSO READ : Ugu District Municipality slammed for non-delivery

Speaking to the Herald, Mkhululi White who owns property in Uvongo said they were battling to carry on with day to day activities as they had had no water for over a month.

“It’s frustrating. We are unable to even have a bath,” he said.

“Water is a necessity – how do you survive without it?

“Council and Ugu officials have failed to carry out their mandate – the delivery of proper water and sanitation.”

One Umzumbe resident said some areas had been without water for more than a year.

“Every time there are elections coming up you see all kinds of politicians in our area,” said Nokulunga Ndelu.

“Yet when there is no water, no one comes to fight for us.

“And I agree – as Ugu is failing to provide us with our basic right, why should we pay?”

Calls for the municipality to be placed under administration are also growing louder.

Municipal spokesman France Zama said the municipality did not condone the non-payment of water accounts.

“Non-payment for services is a problem. Currently, we have a debtors book of about R500-million. The municipality has embarked on programmes to encourage residents to pay so we can keep services going.

“The municipality strongly discourages the notion which seeks to withhold monies that are meant for municipal services.

“We supply water (through tankers) during shortages and we do not charge for that. And for people to call for a boycott of payment does not make sense because we cannot charge them for water they did not use.”

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