EThekwini, ratepayers in agreement

The eThekwini municipality and eThekwini Ratepayers’ Protest Movement (ERPM) have reached an agreement to handle the irregular water billing problem affecting about 50 000 ratepayers.

Senior officials in eThekwini, led by city manager Musa Mbhele, met ERPM on Friday to discuss the water billing adjustment process to find an amicable solutions for ratepayers affected by the water billing adjustment introduced in December.

The meeting was as a result of the statement issued by the municipality outlining its intention to correct money for the six kilolitres of free basic water, which was incorrectly applied to consumers whose properties were above the R250 000 threshold.

The billing adjustment affected less than 10% of the ratepayers.

Mbhele said to correct this technical error, the municipality is proposing to cap the amount payable by affected ratepayers to accommodate those who are not able to pay the full amount.

“This means we will ring-fence the debt and not allow any interest to accrue. And no services will be cut off due to the billing adjustment, provided acknowledgement of debt has been signed.

“We will further allow ratepayers to settle the debt over 36 months, or until the full amount is paid if the amount due is more than the average of about R6 000.

“We will standardise the debt, which means those affected will pay an additional R180 per month instead of the full amount now,” he said.

Mbhele apologised for the inconvenience caused by the technical error, adding that it was important to engage with stakeholders regarding the issue.

“We always strive to deliver superior services. However, it must be acknowledged that the municipality deals with over 550 000 bills every month and such errors may occur,” he said.

Mbhele said according to the city’s policy, it was allowed to backdate charges to correct such errors.

The meeting resulted in both the municipality and ratepayers movement agreeing to work together to develop a way forward.

It was also agreed that abnormal cases – where the amount due is more than the average of R6 000 or calculations errors – raised by ERPM will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.