DA Joburg Shadow MMC for Finance, Councillor Patrick Atkinson has submitted a petition on behalf of residents calling for the City to deal with the billing chaos.
“I submitted a petition on behalf of 3 300 Johannesburg residents who call for the City to urgently review all water and electricity accounts issued between June and August 2020. The DA initiated this petition following numerous complaints of residents being overcharged on their water and electricity rates. The call came after the DA’s request to pose urgent questions on the matter to the MMC for Finance, Councillor Jolidee Matango, was rejected by the Speaker in the September Council meeting,” he explained the purpose of the petition.
“Complaints from residents range from inflated bills based on made-up estimated readings, meters that were stolen and not replaced, and most controversial, the fact that tariffs ballooned way past the published increases – in some cases by more than 100 per cent,” Atkinson further explained.
He went on to divulge some of the cases reported to him by the residents.
“One resident reported receiving an electricity bill for over R150 000 when their regular monthly bill had only been R1 500, two pensioners were slapped with a water bill for R300 000, a family was given an estimate for using 140 000 litres of water, while another was left responsible for R189 000 in water charges due to a leak which they couldn’t pick up because of incorrect estimates,” he shared.
“The residents of Johannesburg are suffering from a bleeding economy, a global health crisis, and a government which continues to steal from them. We have all heard the reports of families going to bed hungry, losing their possessions, and being being evicted from their homes.”
“Under these circumstances, an inflated account can be the difference between having food on the table or not. Many respondents spoke about the desperation of not having a job or being a pensioner trying to make ends meet,” Atkison lamented.
He also shared that another resident told him that they only cook twice a week to save on electricity. “In the face of this they are met by an uncaring City which barely responds to their queries, or makes no effort to resolve them – in one case even after six years of being sent from pillar to post,” he criticised.
“Residents deserve a well-run City that cares about their well-being and doesn’t just use them to fund ANC campaigns,” he said.
Lastly, he encouraged all residents to contact their local DA ward councillor to assist with resolving their billing nightmare.
