Residents of Beacon Valley, Weltevrede Valley and Lentegeur in Mitchell’s Plain are dik kwaad at the City of Cape Town over the lack of regular water bills and having the vital resource cut off in their homes.
Pat Debba, chairperson of the Lentegeur Community Forum, said residents have not received water bills and even though they make monthly payments, they still receive disconnection notices and find themselves for days without water.
“The people here do not get their bills for months while some get a bill in May and then only again in October, but they still go and pay what they think their water bills are.
“They end up paying short and they get charged with interest so the disconnection letters show exorbitant balances.”
Debba showed the Daily Voice some of the letters stating that residents must pay balances ranging from R6000 to R13 000.
Chantel Jones, a Beacon Valley resident, who is yet to receive any bills or disconnection notices says that her water gets cut regularly from 4am to 2pm.
“I have two young daughters, of 11 and 16, and they need to be able to wash themselves and in that time we cannot even flush our toilets, so we have to throw our waste directly in the drains outside which of course is not good.”
Ian Neilson, Mayco Member for Finance, said that the City does not cut water, but instead limits them to trickle flows of 200 litres a day.
“In terms of relevant legislation, we have to send out invoices advising the debtor of their liability. If the accounts are not settled after the due date, appropriate debt collection actions must be taken.”
He failed to comment why residents do not receive monthly statements.