#EveryDropCounts: City owed R2.6bn for unpaid household water bills

More than 25000 households that are R2.6billion in arrears with the City because of non-payment of water bills have only coughed up R20 million. File Picture.

More than 25000 households that are R2.6billion in arrears with the City because of non-payment of water bills have only coughed up R20 million. File Picture.

Published Nov 12, 2018

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Cape Town - More than 25 000 households that are R2.6billion in arrears with the City because of non-payment of water bills have only coughed up R20 million.

The 25 865 households have been handed over to the City’s lawyers.

Close to 20 000 warning letters have already been issued in addition to the legal action taken against the debtors, while the supply of water to more than 2 000 households has been reduced to a trickle system.

Thirty-three homes have already had their water disconnected.

This grim picture was painted in the City’s debt management and collection ratio report for September.

It said the total outstanding debt for rates and services owed to the City as at September 30 was R9bn.

The figure includes the current amount due, but not yet payable, and R1.18m in debts charged on indigent properties where identified water leaks must be repaired and water management devices and prepaid electricity meters installed, where applicable, in order for the once-off debt write off to be implemented.

“The bulk of the debt outstanding is linked to residential properties (R7.512bn), followed by business properties (R1.502bn) and others with outstanding debts of R410 472 841. It must be noted that the City will be increasing its debt management actions during October, November and December and it is therefore important for all property owners to pay their accounts in full on or before the due date, or make arrangements to pay off their debts over an agreed period of time,” the report stated.

Greater Cape Civic Alliance secretary Philip Bam said the figures showed households could not keep up.

“What we need to do is check against the systems of the City to see whether the billing is correct, because one sees pensioners of single households having accounts of R1m. That cannot be right. Those who can afford to pay their debts should pay them, because what we find is that big businesses don’t pay their debt.”

But the report states that the City had in September issued 17 652 letters of demand and 934 debtors were listed for adverse credit listing.

The top 1000 large debtors owe the City just more than R1bn. Of that amount, R528m is payable by business and R522m by residential consumers.

Mayor Dan Plato said the City would be working on plans to bring greater relief to residents.

@JasonFelix

jason.felix@inl.co.za

Cape Argus