Unemployed and expected to pay water bill of R10,000

Mr Ajay Ahir, who resides in Protea Road, Acaciavale, is furious with uThukela District Municipality after they completely cut off his water supply.

Mr Ahir is an unemployed father of three, one of his children being a one-month-old baby. He lives in a rental house and pays R500 a month after his landlord allowed him to stay there, understanding his situation.

A municipal worker, who stopped at Mr Ahir’s residence while doing his rounds, cut off his water supply after he allegedly told Mr Ahir that the meter had been tampered with.

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The municipal worker gave him a letter issuing a fine concerning illegal connections and tampering.

According to Mr Ahir, he has never tampered with the meter, nor has he made an illegal connection. He feels he has been targeted by the municipal worker, as the worker has evidently been going to his place of residence weekly.

“I am a father of three and we, as a family, live here. My youngest is one month old and it makes life difficult, as we don’t have running water. This issue has been ongoing for a month now, as we haven’t had running water in all that time.”

Mr Ahir, with the help of his next-door neighbour, receives water from a hose pipe which is passed through the fence.

As an unemployed person, he feels the municipality is being unreasonable; he cannot afford to pay the R10,000 water bill that is being charged.

The unemployed father pleads with the municipality to consider his situation, as he is not the owner of the house and is also unable to pay such a huge amount.

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