Thousands of taxpayers in the eThekwini Municipality received a shocking surprise for Christmas after the city issued them with an added water and sanitation charge worth three years, dating back to 2020.
Chairperson of the eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement [EPRM] Asad Gaffar spoke to IOL about the issue, as the organisation is assisting many of the affected residents in filing a dispute.
The ERPM is an amalgamation of several ratepayer associations in Durban, from the north, south, and western parts of the city.
Gaffar said that the charges related to around 45,000 households that were allegedly told in 2010 they qualified for six kilolitres worth of free water.
The free water was given on the condition that the affected residents' properties were worth R250,000 or less.
But property prices have risen sharply since then, which means these residents who were given free water are now liable to pay.
The charges did not appear on prior statements because of an alleged billing error on the part of the municipality.
Gaffar said the problem is not that residents were asked to pay money for the free water, but how deceptively the municipality introduced the sudden charges without any prior notification.
“We got word that people received their bills in November, showing this new back charge.
“The charge basically said that people had to pay for the free water and sanitation they received from 2020. These are the poor people we are talking about; most of them are elderly. How much do you think a household is earning if the entire house is worth around R250,000?" Gaffar asked.
This effectively meant that people given this notice were liable to pay for six kilolitres per month over a 12-month period, for three years in total (6 kl x 12) x 3).
This amount is payable by December, according to a copy of a utility bill IOL is in possession of.
Another problem is that people are charged different rates for the free six kilolitres. For instance, some people were charged R45 per kilolitre and some were charged R35, Gaffar explained.
“We understand that water is charged on a sliding scale, but this has nothing to do with that. It is a back charge, and worst, it is because the municipality made a mistake on their part, which they have acknowledged,” Gaffar said.
“The main problem is that the city waited until November to give people these new bills. They did not have the decency to issue a notice at least three or six months beforehand.
“This free water issue dates back to 2010. They had around 13 years to figure out something was wrong with their system, and they did nothing. Now they want people to pay for their mistake,” he added.
The EPRM statement issued on Thursday said it has begun lodging disputes in terms of Section 102.2 of the Municipal Systems Act.
IOL has approached the eThekwini Municipality for a comment on the new added water and sanitation charges and is awaiting their comment.
IOL