Most municipalities have been pushed to make arrangements and pay their water bills or face water cuts due to non-payment. This is not a good situation, but a last attempt by the service providers to get what is owed and due to them.
To be without water is not a desirable situation as water is life.
Our municipalities are failing to keep up with the payments mainly due to the lack of funds. For our municipalities to be able to pay for the bulk water they receive, it is crucial that we all play our part in paying for the services they provide.
In addition our municipalities must ensure that they provide quality services to encourage people to pay for the services. They must attend to problems immediately.
As a municipality, how do you expect the community to pay and conserve water when it takes you more than a week to attend to a burst pipe or leakage that waste precious purified water?
Municipalities must also ensure that all households have reliable and good working meters and that the meter readings in statements are correct to prevent disputes that lead to community members being discouraged.
Our municipalities need to encourage the public to pay for services by explaining the importance of paying for services and making the people aware of the negative effects of non-payment of reliable and quality services delivery, such as reliable water supply.
Our municipalities must also ensure that they prioritise the payment of services received from service providers so as not to inconvenience the communities through the shutting down of services by providers.
Let us all be responsible citizens and pay our municipal accounts for sustainable and improved service delivery in our communities. Reliable and improved service delivery is a coordinated effort of the community members and the municipality being able to pay for the services they receive.
