Businessman claims GMM is unfair
‘Municipality should take care of its infrastructure’
BETHAL – If Govan Mbeki Municipality takes care of its infrastructure and pays its bills, there would have been no need for any business to have its generators on standby most of the time.
This was a statement made by the owner of OK Foods, Mr Carlos de Gouveia, after two employees of the municipality recently cut the power to his shop because he had a faulty water meter.
Mr De Gouveia at that time was in credit on his municipal account.
“I support the municipality, but they are targeting business owners, because they know we can not be without power.
“They should take care of us, because we are keeping the municipality alive, not the voters.”
Mr De Gouveia’s problems happened on 17 January when two employees of the municipality took to the streets of Bethal to collect outstanding money for electricity.
When the men inspected the water meter at OK Foods, it was found not to be working.
They decided to cut the electricity supply to the shop.
Shortly thereafter, the shop’s generator kicked in.
When Mr De Gouveia asked the men whose responsibility it was to check whether the water meter was working or not, they said it was his responsibility.
According to him, the men wanted to stop the generator from working, because “Mr De Gouveia is using the municipality’s infrastructure”.
Mr De Gouveia and the men were in a heated discussion and he told them they could have entered the shop and talk to him.
He was informed later that afternoon he had to pay R42 000 to have the electricity restored.
“That amount was thumb sucked, they still have not provided me with any proof of how they got to that amount.”
He said a municipal employee told him the meter had been faulty for 10 months.
The newspaper asked the municipality for comment more than a week ago, but has received none at the time of going to press.
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