Skewing the facts

COUNCILLOR Xanthea Limberg’s letter, “Skew idea of budget” (Cape Argus, August 4) misrepresents the facts by stating: “The savings realised by ongoing rephasing of this programme had a positive financial outcome for the public and ultimately reflected in lower tariffs for 2018/19”.

Is she implying the council would have tabled even higher tariffs than the massive water tariff increases implemented on July 1, that resulted in an over-collection of close to R1 billion?

What Ms Limberg failed to state is that with her supposedly lower water and sanitation tariffs, law-abiding ratepayers who use only 6kl of water a month are now paying, every 1.7 months, the equivalent of their annual water bill for 2017.

In January 2018, the cost of 6kl of water was R24, while the same volume costs R173.40 from July 1. This implies that the annual water bill of R288 (R24 x 12) would be collected over 1.7 months – less than two months – using the new water tariffs. How can this ever be interpreted as “lower tariffs for 2018/19”?

She also failed to indicate the huge amountsforked out by ratepayers for the water management devices (WMDs). If 20 000 WMDs have been installed at a cost of R4 000 each, then the council collected R80 million! The WMDs are currently set to dispense 87 litres a day to each of four occupants, while the council recently reduced consumption to 50 litres a day. This over-dispensing will result in the doubling of a household’s water bill. This cunning modus operandi of the council will net an additional R4.5m to their coffers.

Ratepayers would have had R4.5m extra in their pockets each month if the WMDs dispensed 50 litres a person for households with four occupants. Those with more will be hit even harder.

Who is Ms Limberg trying to fool? As ratepayers, we are suffering the disastrous financial effect of her supposed “lower tariffs”.