The City of Joburg appears to have double standards when it comes to cut-offs. This after it admitted that Soweto residents who default on their water bill do not get cut off.
However, The Star receives numerous calls from residents of the suburbs who are constantly being cut off - even when the account holder is in arrears for just a few days.
Soweto residents owe the council R452 million for water. Electricity to the area is mainly supplied by Eskom.
In the only figures available from Eskom from 2007, Soweto residents owed the parastatal R1.78 billion, with a payment level of 24 percent.
The City of Joburg said tenants who had water accounts owe R118m; owners who are account holders owe R225m.
The council has estimated that the balance of unpaid water bills of about R108m is owed by people not yet registered on the city's revenue system. But despite these huge bills, residents are not forced into paying by having their water cut off.
In a response to The Star, City of Joburg head of communications Gabu Tugwana said: "We do not cut water as it is a basic need for all homes. We do however send out credit control letters to the residents in Soweto."