Durban: The SA Local Government Association (Salga) in KwaZulu-Natal has rejected uMngeni-uThukela Water’s proposed bulk water tariff increase of 13.5%, saying the hike would be passed on to consumers.
This matter was part of the discussion at the Salga meeting last week. The organisation warned that customers are already struggling to pay their bills, and this increase could worsen the situation.
Many municipalities have had to enter into arrangements with uMngeni-uThukela to pay their accounts as they have fallen behind. The developments have outraged the municipalities and ratepayers, who argue that the proposed increase cannot be justified, is excessive and ratepayers cannot afford it.
Some of these municipalities are said to already owe the uMngeni-uThukela water entity hundreds of millions of rand.
“The Salga KZN Executive Committee, led by councillor Xolani Dube, met on January 24 and noted that currently, municipalities are owed a staggering R38 billion in unpaid bills, the highest municipal debt recorded in history.”
It said such alarming debt levels and the proposed 13.5% bulk water tariff hike could lead to an unsustainable financial burden for municipalities tasked with delivering critical services to the public.
“Salga KZN recommends a more reasonable weighted average tariff increase of 6.1%, aligned with the current Consumer Price Index (CPI), to ensure affordability for ratepayers while maintaining municipal financial viability.
“Salga calls on the Minister of Water Affairs, Ms Pemmy Majodina, MP, not to approve the proposed increase and to instead consider an inflation-linked tariff. Other municipalities have stated they will adopt a wait-and-see approach,” said the organisation.
The ratepayers organisations also rejected the proposed increase, saying it could not be justified.
Anthony Waldhausen, of the Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers and Civics (MARRC), said: “It is that time of the year when the municipality goes about rates and tariff increases. These increases do not make any economic sense; they are double or triple the CPI of 3%. These increases are not affordable, and residents are battling against the current economic climate and are not able to make ends meet.
“These tariff increases by uMngeni-uThukela Water would be transferred to the consumer and are deemed unfair. We are at a breaking point, and residents cannot continue to suffer, MARRC opposes these increases,” Waldhausen said.
Ish Pradlah, of the eThekwini Ratepayers and Residents Association, said the tariffs could not be justified.
“How does uMngeni-uThukela justify this increase? Water supply has been very inconsistent. Ratepayers are without water for days on end, and some have been without water for close to a month. You are increasing tariffs but without proper supplies, where water is a human right. More pressure and costs will affect the ratepayer and households, especially as the economy is in a downward trend.”
Brian Zuma, spokesperson for the uMgungundlovu District Municipality said: “We will be able to issue a statement after the matter has been discussed in Council.”
Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said these tariffs were excessively high and out of reach for many residents.
“We know that these are exorbitant tariffs that our communities, who are already struggling, cannot absorb. We know that Nersa is already considering an increase for Eskom, and hopefully, it will not approve a high increase. In the case of these tariffs proposed by uMngeni, we can say clearly the community cannot afford them, especially in light of the bad economic situation in the country.
“We must also consider the fact that there is a directive that our tariffs must be cost-reflective, meaning we must charge what it costs to produce that service. We support the fact that Salga, as the representative of all the municipalities, is leading the fight to object to this because we know that if we were to object to it on our own, it would be a losing battle,” said Thebolla.
Attempts to get comment from uMngeni-uThukela Water were unsuccessful by the time of publication.