POLOKWANE – What felt like a never-ending municipal account nightmare for the owner of Môrester Supa Quick in 19th Avenue, Industria came to an end last week.
The municipality replaced the electrical box servicing Môrester Supa Quick and Gearmax last year and since then they had been experiencing problems with their municipal accounts.
Chris du Preez, owner of Môrester Supa Quick, said their account was never more than R14 000 each month, but after the electrical box was replaced, their account had been between R40 000 and R80 000 per month.
Their latest account was more than R46 000, and their electricity was disconnected for a day, he said. Du Preez said he was sent from one person to the next without getting any joy by having the problem resolved, which was why he eventually contacted Review for assistance.
After Review’s article in this regard, the municipality investigated the matter and Du Preez’s business account was in credit with more than R8 000.
“We were sent from the one person to the next, but no one could help us. However, after Review’s article the municipality sent an inspector who investigated the matter and we were in credit. Thank you Review for your help and thanks to the municipality for resolving the problem,” Du Preez said.
Leana Snyman, bookkeeper at Gearmax, said their account had never been more than R4 000 per month, but their recent municipal account was more than R316 000.
“Our municipal nightmare started in June last year with a municipal account of R28 000. Now the account is between R72 000 and R316 000. We realised that the largest portion of our municipal account is water consumption of about R60 000.
“This is highly impossible as we are only four people working in the office. We have delegated employees who close the stop tap at night when we close business and who open it the next morning, so that we save water,” Snyman said.
She added that after Review’s article they also received a visit from a municipal inspector, but they had not received any feedback yet.
By the time of going to print, the municipality had not given comment on the matter.
