LETTERS: Ilembe fails its residents once again

Ilembe District Municipality informed the ACDP this week of their decision to increase the water tariff by 10%. This is way above inflation which stands at 6%. The ACDP finds this increase appalling. Residents are sure to be up in arms with the decision taken by Ilembe.
Recently the ACDP, together with many residents, made written appeals to Ilembe District Municipality requesting that they keep the water increase on the same level as inflation. However, at a meeting for the adoption of the Final Budget for 2016/17 financial year, the municipality resolved to increase the tariff by 10%!
Responding to the increase, ACDP local councillor, Nel Sewraj said: “This municipality has once again failed the residents, as it has done with its substandard water services in recent years. The municipality didn’t even have the decency to explain the reasons behind their decision. This is unacceptable. They have become notorious for poor service delivery and no accountability when it comes to water. Everybody recalls that we never had such putrid water services prior to Ilembe taking over.”
The ACDP believes that the municipality failed to take into consideration the low growth of the economy currently as well as the above-inflation electricity tariff increase of 9.4% imposed by Nersa, besides the numerous other electricity increases over the years.
Understandably, Nersa increases countered and curbed Eskom’s serious energy crisis on a national scale. The same cannot be said for Ilembe District Municipality who we believe are merely exploiting cash-strapped residents to pay for their inefficiency.

CLLR NEL SEWRAJ
ACDP Councillor – Kwadukuza