THE sudden inflation of their eThekwini Municipal accounts has left many residents, especially those living in complexes and flats, unable to pay their rates.
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Ward 97 councillor André Beetge explained the reason for the abnormal billing. He said that, years ago, the municipality supplied 6 000 litres (6kl) of free water to all households monthly. This practice continues to date as the indigent and the poor, who are unable to afford the source of life, are still supplied with free water.
“At the time, those who resided in dwellings valued above R250 000 were only billed for usage over 6kl water per month. This changed about 10 years ago, and while the indigent continued to receive free water, those who reside in dwellings valued over R250 000 were required to pay for all consumption, thus the free 6kl was stopped. Someone neglected to apply the decision somewhere along the line, especially in complexes and flats, and the municipality continued to supply the 6kl for free instead of raising charges against all usage,” said Beetge.
This supply continued undetected for years, and it was only during the 2022/23 audit, that the Auditor General pick up on the blunder and instructed the municipality to remedy the oversight. Legislation, however, only affords a three-year recovery window so despite the extended supply of 6kl, the municipality is now recovering three years of usage in arrears which was not billed.
“Noting that this might put several residents in a predicament of unaffordability, the city council decided to temporarily relax the credit control policy until the end of July. Those who are unable to afford to pay the arrears in one amount can enter into an agreement whereby a deposit equal to 5% of the debt is paid, while the remainder can be portioned to 36 months, in addition to current usage charges. This is as opposed to the 25% deposit that is normally required to defray arrears,” he said.
The relaxation of the credit control policy is only until the end of this month and also extends any other arrears owed to the municipality. Agreement contracts can be signed at the Winklespruit Sizakala Centre at Gracedale Road.
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