Rosettenville pensioner without water for a year
All she asks is the arrangement of water to be reinstated.
FORGET about Cape Town and Day Zero, Rosettenville’s pensioner Denise Potgieter hasn’t had water since February last year.
Her water was switched off and the meter removed for ‘non-payment’.
She has been trying to solve this problem since then, however, she is not winning.
“My husband and I have been on Joburg’s Expanded Social Package (ESP) programme, however, he died in 2013.
“The City’s offices were made aware of my husband’s passing,” she said.
Surprisingly, the death of Mr Potgieter was not registered, and even though Mrs Potgieter religiously went to the council every six months to register herself (as required by ESP), they insisted that both husband and wife present themselves to sign in order to keep the ESP package going.
She started receiving accounts for payment of rates, even though she had informed them that Mr. Potgieter could not come in and sign, as he was dead.
She repeatedly took copies of his death certificate to them.
There seems to have been a problem with cancelling his name on the account or alternatively issuing a new account in only her name.
Since Mr Potgieter’s death, Mrs Potgieter has been to Jorrison Street, Loveday Street and Region 9 to try and sort this out, to no avail.
In all this time she continued to receive a monthly account for rates, which was now mounting up and is currently over R20 000 apparently owed to the City Council.
Her friend, Jennifer Considine, has been helping her with water since her water meter was removed.
“All this is not her fault.
“She has tried several times to rectify her account to no avail.
“She has been sent from pillar to post.
“Her income is only R1 600 (her SASSA grant).
“How on earth is she expected to pay off that amount off, and why should she, seeing as all these problems were not caused by her?
“And she has been struggling without water for the whole year.
“Having to carry jars from neighbours in order to drink a cup of tea.
“Can’t use the toilet, bath, wash clothes, or drink a glass of water, even her plants have died,” explained Considine.
All she asks is the arrangement of water to be reinstated, the amount owed cancelled and her new account commencing with a balance of zero.
She can re-register with ESP and hopefully live a normal life again.
“I have tried at the Joburg office and my ward councillor but nothing has materialised,” she said.
The COURIER contacted City of Joburg’s Nthatisi Modingoane about Mrs Potgieter’s ordeal.
He is looking into the matter.
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