Letters: Sewer charge link to valuation is wrong

It is that time of the year when the municipalities are busy with the budgets that don’t affect them but the poor consumer. The bureaucrats think that they are more important than the ratepayers. If there were no ratepayers they wouldn’t even have a job.
I completely disagree with the DA which is in favour of sewer being charged according to the municipal valuation of the property. This will never work.
Imagine a house with two or three occupants with present sewer charges (15 kl a month) of R272.96 including VAT and basic charges, having to pay R655.50 on a house with a rateable value of R1 million. The same will apply to a small business with a higher property valuation.
iLembe has a duty to explain to the ratepayers the reason for the change from the present system. According to Miss Zee Nqala, communications manager of iLembe Municipality, the valuation method will ensure fixed sewer charges for consumers and avoid estimated readings.
Is this a good reason? Who is asking iLembe to send out accounts with estimated charges? Every ratepayer should object to the change and force iLembe to continue with the old system.
Since it’s a habit for municipalities to increase all the charges every year this should be done according to the inflation-linked charge of 6% (both for water and sewer). As far as KwaDukuza Municipality is concerned their refuse and rates must be reduced from 10 percent to the inflation-linked six percent. However, KDM must be commended for keeping the electricity tariff of 1.88% below the tariff increase of 2% granted by NERSA to Eskom. However, there must be no increase in the basic charge for electricity.
Municipalities should realise that the consumers are going through a very difficult time. Municipalities can help the consumer by avoiding wasteful and fruitless expenditure.
The KwaDukuza municipality spent close to R40 million on irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure for the period December 2016 to January 2017 (just in two months). Our budget could have been reduced by R40 million.
PH MAHARAJ
KwaDukuza
Letter shortened – Editor.