Dodgy goings-on with council meter readings
From: STEVE THE WONDERER Durban
I READ with interest the article on electricity readings and rates in The Independent on Saturday, August 5.
The statements made by the municipality state that the electricity readings are taken every three months. My neighbour claims his meter was only read twice in 2016.
I SMS my electricity meter reading to the number indicated in the article, every month. Sometimes I get a response from the “Custo Care Clerk” saying my reading has been captured on the system, but often I do not get any response. Often I still get an estimated reading despite my having sent the reading to the municipality, and despite that the Custo Care Clerk has informed me that my reading has been captured on the system.
I see up to four private contractors per month entering our residential security complex to take meter readings. They arrive in private (nonmunicipal) vehicles, but identify themselves as being contracted to the municipality. They take the readings of one or two meters. When I ask them why they don’t record all the readings of all the units, they tell me that they have only been tasked to read the meters of Units 18 and 46, for example, and they do not have to take all the readings. Next week, another contractor will arrive and take the readings of one or two other meters. If the municipality can afford to send a private contractor to our complex up to four times a month, why can they not simply read all the meters once a month? I am sure this will result in a substantial saving to the ratepayer. You are aware of the ratepayer? The ratepayers are the fools who give the municipality free money every month so the municipality can squander it.
eThekwini officials (our employees, since we pay their salaries with our rates), have reduced the property values from R3 million to R2m to qualify for a pensioners rebate. This may be legal, but our municipal officials have found a way to increase revenue by effectively stealing from pensioners. This is basically legal fraud and is shocking.
Our government, at all levels, are the masters of deceit and are continuously finding ways to tax us beyond what should be considered reasonable, and are now taxing us to the point they are legally stealing from us.
I suppose our taxes have to be increased at this rate by the government and municipalities to be able to afford the levels of corruption they enjoy, and the expensive vehicles that afford them a false sense of importance.
It is time our government and municipality realise they work for us, and not us for them.