Report incorrect billing swiftly

08 March 2016

 

Residents of Diepsloot on Monday night 7 March told City of Johannesburg officials during a Property Rates and Taxes meeting at the Diepsloot Youth Centre in Extension 2 that their water bills were too high.

 

The residents said, as a result, they could not afford to pay for the services provided by the City.

“Since the installation of a toilet in my house, my water bill has gone up to R1 700 a month,” said elderly Nokhaya Mgcina.

“As I cannot afford to pay this amount, I only pay R200 every month. But after about six months, I received a bill for R110 000. I know that water should be paid for, which is why I pay the R200, which is all I can afford. But I fail to understand how my a water bill alone could amount to R110 000 in six months.”

Mgcina said when the water pipe in her yard started leaking, she was informed by municipal officials to fix it herself.

“I paid a plumber R450 to fix the leakage,” she said.

Residents also raised problems relating to high property rates reflected in their statements. James Netshivhumbe said he did not understand how his two-roomed property with a carport was evaluated.

“In 2012 my rates and taxes were R300 but last year they were increased to R500,” Netshivhumbe said.

He urged the City’s Revenue and Customer Relationship Management Department to convene a special session in Diepsloot at which residents would air their grievances. Phumza Jack, the City’s Rates and Taxes Specialist, advised residents not to let their dissatisfaction about bills simmer.

“When you have a problem with your bill, go to the municipal offices immediately to have it sorted out,” she said.

Jack added she would recommend to the Revenue and Customer Relationship Management Department to visit Diepsloot to help residents resolve their billing problems. Jack said should residents feel their properties were incorrectly valued, they could lodge an appeal with the appeals board.

“If the resident is still not satisfied with the appeal board’s decision, the dispute can then be taken to the high court, which will rule on the issue,” she said.

Monday night’s meeting formed part of round one of a public consultation process aimed at giving residents the opportunity to contribute to the content of the new policy and to ensure that property rates were equitable and affordable.

The second and final round will take place in April and May, during which time the new proposals and feedback will be incorporated into a draft document and presented to the public for comment.