R7m utility bill shocks pensioner
R7 MILLION! That’s the absurd utility bill for water consumption that is giving Chatsworth pensioner Morgan Naicker sleepless nights.
Durban residents have repeatedly called for the eThekwini Municipality’s new multimillion- rand Revenue Management System (RMS) to be scrapped as the billing bungles increase, but this does not seem likely.
The city has consistently denied its sophisticated system has gone haywire.
But Naicker, 65, thinks otherwise.
At time ticks by, so the amount reflected on his monthly statement increases.
The grandfather of six lives in a three-bedroom semi-duplex and his water and electricity bill used to be between R2 800 and R3 900 a month.
But he was left speechless in October when his statement reflected he owed R5m.
“I went to my local rent office to query the amount and no one could provide an answer. I then contacted the water department and was told to lodge a complaint and they would call me back.”
A week went by without a response.
“I was desperate for answers and eventually went to their offices in town and was told the meter on my property could be faulty and might need to be replaced,” he said. “I was told someone from the department would contact me.”
Four months later, he is still waiting for that call or a visit from department officials.
Every time he queries the status of his complaint, he is allegedly told someone will get back to him.
“But they never do. I am being pushed from one person to another.”
He said that to ensure his water and electricity services were not disconnected, he paid his usual monthly instalments.
“This is an ongoing problem. I don’t think the municipality knows what they are doing. No one has given me a proper answer as to why my utility bill is so high.”
Naicker believed the water and electricity meters were being read incorrectly.
“Workers don’t know how to read the meters, which is why we have this problem.
Denial
“The municipality needs to take this issue more seriously.”
Naicker sought help from local DA councillor Ronnie Pillay, who shared his plight with the treasury department in a bid to rectify the problem.
Pillay said some residents had bills of between R250 000 and R9m.
“We are trying to help residents as best we can. If they have a problem, they must come to our offices.”
The DA held a community meeting in Phoenix two weeks ago to discuss residents’ concerns, but it was abandoned when the crowd became unruly after being addressed by a municipal official who had denied there were any problems.
The eThekwini Municipality had not responded to queries by the time of going to print.