Residents find no joy with JHB Water
"I have noticed that a lot of the danger boxes in the area don't have doors and for them not having doors means danger for our children and us."
Residents of Protea North have expressed their concerns with the service they receive from Johannesburg Water at a public meeting held last Thursday at Tetelo Secondary School in Protea North. Residents expressed that they found no joy with the municipal entity as there are not enough vendors and hefty fines for tampering with the meter.
Johannesburg Water has moved to fine people with illegal connections up to R15 000 while the fine was previously R3000. This move has greatly affected the residents of Protea as some allege to have been falsely accused of meter tampering while the meter is faulty.
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Johannesburg Water’s Dikeledi Molefe revealed that the entity does not conduct audits on the functionality of their meters. She also told residents that the meters have a lifespan of five years, she explained that the battery that powers the meter is the component that needs to be changed every five years.
This has however not been done since the beginning of Operation Gcin’amanzi which saw the rollout of prepaid water meters between 2003 and 2008.
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David Sibiya, Customer Services Manager for Johannesburg Water, conceded that the R15 000 fine was too hefty for residents.
“I know it’s unfair, from R3000 to R15 000? I can’t explain it. It’s not my department,” explained Sibiya.
Resident, Grace Molalogi, who sells prepaid water expressed her dissatisfaction with the lack of vendors in the area.
“People are struggling with water! [Johannesburg Water] is selling water but they haven’t made provision for resources to sell this water. I sell water to people from extension 29 and Meadowlands sometimes, [Johannesburg Water] is making people suffer,” she said.
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She also expressed the need for education regarding water tariffs as she has noticed that people are not familiar with how they work.
“These people don’t explain anything to anyone! I use my own resources to help people because they are not competent enough to do it themselves. They might as well hire me to do their jobs!” said Molalogi.
Johannesburg Water also announced that they are rolling out educational campaigns in order to address the concerns of residents. Other issues tabled during the meeting include the ever-present issue of illegal dumping in the greater Protea area and crime which continues to plague residents.
Ward 14 councillor, Makapane Mokwena, expressed concern with the tampering of electricity boxes in the Protea North area.
“I have noticed that a lot of the danger boxes in the area don’t have doors and for them not having doors means danger for our children and us. Those doors are important because if it rains and the box catches water that means serious danger for those who live nearby or passers-by,” said Mokwena.
He has urged residents to pay attention to what is happening around those boxes and report any wrongdoing.
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