Cape Town - Water tariffs may have dropped by almost 35% in the Cape, but deputy mayor Ian Neilson says the City will continue to rake in money by an increase in the sale of water that should make up for any shortfall.
This, say interest groups and opposition parties, is just another way the City is milking its ratepayers.
Households are now allowed to use 105 litres of water per day under the relaxed water restrictions, and may use municipal water to wash their cars and water their gardens at certain times of the day.
Tariffs for households using between 0 and 6 kilolitres of water will now be R15.73 per kilolitre, down from R24.37/kl. Indigent households will receive this water free.
Users in the 6kl and 10.5kl bracket have their kl cost reduced from R39.59 to R22.38. This water remains free for indigent households.The 10.5kl to 35kl bracket will be R31.77 and those using more 35kl will now pay R69.76.
Mayor Dan Plato announced on Thursday that Level 5 restrictions would be relaxed to Level 3, effective from Saturday, December 1. “We are no longer in a period of extreme scarcity, but it does not mean that we should forgo some of the great water-wise ways that we have made a part of our daily lives,” Plato said.
Stop COCT founder Sandra Dickson said the lowered tariffs were good news for pensioners.
“My greatest relief is for the pensioners who are getting some relief.
"What irks me the most is that the levies and charges that people want removed are not being considered. The problem is not with the saving of water, as we have seen that residents can do it.
"They can, however, not afford the high tariffs that the City charges us. That is where the problem lies. The City simply doesn’t want to listen to its ratepayers," Dickson said.
Secretary of the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance, Philip Bam, said: “So the City of Cape Town is relaxing water restrictions. Good.
"But what we need more than relaxing of restrictions is relaxing of the ridiculously exorbitant water charges and levies.”
ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said more financial relief from the punitive tariffs would have been more prudent.
“The drought levy needs to be scrapped. The water tariffs need to be reduced to R4 per kilolitre and stop charging people for the blue water meters,” he said.
Asked whether the City’s finances would be impacted by the lowering of tariffs, Neilson said: “There has been over-recovery amounts for the last few months.
"That also gives us some space to work with. But in essence we know that there is likely to be an increase in water usage. So this will mean that we sell more water. So everything balances out.”
Mayoral committee member for water, sanitation and informal settlements Xanthea Limberg said they were following a conservative approach in the light of rainfall uncertainty over the coming two years.
“These Level 3 recovery restrictions are also a measure to help support the great change we have seen in the relationship that we have with water while, at the same time, providing some financial relief to residents and businesses,” she said.
Cape Chamber of Commerce president Janine Myburgh welcomed the relaxation of water restrictions.
@JasonFelix