The utility bill issues in town are not over and have been ongoing for months, despite residents lodging disputes over incorrect and unexpectedly high accounts. Complaints continue to pour in from households struggling to understand why their bills have suddenly soared, and the community is demanding clearer communication and accountability from the municipality.

Residents received their utility bills last week, and again some accounts are as high as R24,000 for a household of three people. The finance department explained at the community meeting that meter readings can only be estimated for up to three consecutive months, after which actual readings must be taken. One resident said her account appears to have been estimated for nearly two years and that she was never informed that the meter could not be accessed for readings, if that was the case. She said she was later told by the municipality that the previous estimates were too low, which resulted in the large correction and the R24,000 bill now owed. Another resident reported that their account increased from R5000 to R10,000, while another said theirs is now R30,000 – also due to earlier estimated readings allegedly being corrected.

A community member, who asked to remain anonymous, said the frustration is justified. “The outrage within the community regarding the most recent municipal accounts is completely understandable. Households and businesses are already struggling under massive financial pressure, as well as the crippling impact of regular outages of basic services like water and electricity. Residents simply cannot afford this additional strain. This issue of municipal accounts in the 10s of thousands of rands is something that needs to be addressed in a more realistic and reasonable manner than placing the burden on the consumer.”

During the community meeting held on October 14, Director of Technical Services Mr Nathi Mbongwa, as well as a representative from the finance department, confirmed that the municipality is currently collecting only about 50% of the electricity tariff needed to meet its payment obligations to Eskom. In other words, the municipality is under-collecting from residents. This shortfall has placed severe pressure on the municipal budget and made it difficult to keep up with payments to Eskom.

Officials also said at the meeting that the municipality will revisit electricity tariffs and intends to engage with the community on possible adjustments, but it remains to be seen whether any changes will be implemented. “We are going back to the drawing board,” he said. “We want to engage with the community to reach some kind of compromise regarding the tariffs.” In the meantime, residents are urged by the AbaQulusi Association NPO to continue lodging disputes with every month’s account and submit to andre0815288700@gmail.com or hand in at Uys & Partners.

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The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.