It comes down to jobs

‘AbaQuluis Resident’ writes:-

YOUR article about the huge amount owed to the municipality refers. It is a huge figure, and I predict that it will continue to grow regardless of any attempt by the municipality to curb the trend, let alone collect the arrears. It is going to get worse because de- spite the huge number of extra house- holds that are like satellites around the core of Vryheid, there are no more jobs available in Vryheid than there were ever before. In fact, there may even be fewer jobs going in town. So these households will exist on social grants. And once their free electricity is used up, and their free water allocation is used up? Then what? Don’t tell me that the municipality has the ability or the political will to cut those people off. And if these services are cut off, we all know that illegal connections hap- pen. In fact, it would be nice to know to what extent these connection do happen. Years ago, it used to be made known what the “wastage” was, wastage being the amount of water purified compared to the amount that was actually billed on our service accounts. I recollect that at one stage there was a wastage of water in the region of 71%. That means that of every 1,000 litres purified at the Klipfontein and Bloemveld purification plants, only 390 litres was accounted for by way of the accounts rendered. The rest was stolen or wasted away via burst pipes, leaks etc. One of the best known wastage points was the Post Office parking toi- lets which was used as a water source for the informal car washers who used the lot as a business premises with FREE water. And you reported a month or so ago that the municipality allowed water to flow away for nearly two weeks at a burst pipe on the Bloemveld pipeline. And it’s going to get worse because as we all know, the first thing to be sac- rificed when the municipality wants money for something else, the first thing to go is the maintenance budget. So, if we cannot properly maintain the system, wastage will escalate as the system crumbles. It’s inevitable. How much electricity is “lost” would be a nice figure to know. The municipality must know how many kilowatts it buys from Eskom, and must know how much of this is resold and paid for through our monthly accounts and pre-paid sales, so what’s the differ- ence? How much is “lost” though what the municipality itself uses, streetlights and illegal connections? Do you think the municipality dare tell us? For all that, I cannot offer a solu- tion, and if the government, both local and national, were honest they’d tell us that they haven’t a solution either. They make all sorts of pie-in-the-sky statements full of good intentions, but the reality is that there simply are not enough jobs. That’s what it all comes down to – jobs. And until there are more jobs available in AbaQulusi, the amount owed to the municipality will continue to rise. More jobs? Don’t hold your breath.