Gqeberha businessman fights ‘impossible’ municipal water bill of R1.5m

A 74-year-old Gqeberha businessman has spent months fighting a municipal water bill that ballooned to more than R1.5-million – an amount he says is impossible for his household.

Despite the municipality applying a credit to slash the debt from R1,565,385.60 to roughly R30,000, Adriaan Smuts is refusing to pay, demanding a full correction of his account.

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the municipality investigates billing disputes and that several factors could contribute to problems with municipal accounts, including estimated billing when properties were inaccessible, faulty or replaced meters, unusually high consumption caused by leaks, and delays in technical investigations.

Smuts says none of these explanations accounts for the figures on his bill.

He was offered debt relief by the municipality on Tuesday, but declined it, saying he wanted the underlying billing error corrected.

“Even if I am able to pay that outstanding amount, I will not pay it because this is not an error of my making. They are trying to exploit me,” said Smuts.

“Someone is incorrectly capturing things. It is clear that the municipality is deliberately trying to make it look on its books as though there are large sums of money owed to them by residents, when in fact this is not the case.”

According to Smuts’ previous municipal bills seen by Daily Maverick, his water charges had never been above R300.

Smuts estimates that his monthly municipal water consumption is no more than 5kl, as he relies heavily on rainwater tanks for everyday household needs, including flushing toilets. Municipal water, he said, is used mainly for drinking, making tea and cooking.

Against this backdrop, one of the municipal accounts records water consumption of just 1kl in one month, followed by a subsequent reading of 4,919kl. Smuts said the latter figure was simply not credible.

“There is no way we could have used that amount of water,” he said. He believes the problem lies with the municipality’s handling of meter readings and billing information.

Exhausting process

Having to repeatedly report the problem at the municipality’s customer care offices is extremely exhausting and time-consuming. 

“I go through so much sh*t when I have to report the issues when I go to the customer care office,” he said. “It is extremely difficult to have this issue resolved. I have been struggling for months to have my account rectified.

“You will have to dedicate almost half your day when you want to report the issue. But just when you think the issue is resolved, you will be confronted with the same thing next month and the month thereafter.”

Smuts’ experience is not unique, according to Ward 12 councillor Vernon Boggenpoel, who said his office receives complaints about incorrect municipal bills almost every week.

Many of those approaching him are elderly residents who are distressed at the prospect of being forced to pay bills they say are wrong.

“For older people it is a horrific experience,” said Boggenpoel.

Residents were “often emotional and in tears” because they feared they would have to dip into savings to settle disputed municipal accounts.

Boggenpoel said the problems extend beyond incorrect readings and point to serious weaknesses in the municipality’s billing and record-keeping systems.

“Somewhere there is an issue with the municipal billing system. Maybe there is also not even an issue with just the billing system,” he said.

“There are often ... no records that, for example, your meter had been changed. A lot of these extremely high bills are a result of a water meter that has been replaced. And then [the municipality] has no record internally of that ever happening.”

Boggenpoel said better systems were needed to identify billing anomalies before residents were forced to spend hours trying to correct them.

How residents can dispute their bill

Residents who receive an “unexpectedly high” water bill should first check for visible or underground leaks and compare the meter reading on their municipal account with the reading displayed on the meter.

When lodging a billing query, residents should submit a photograph of the current meter reading to the municipality’s Customer Care at customercare@mandelametro.gov.za.

Suspected faulty meters should be reported to 0800 205050 without delay.

Residents who are dissatisfied with the outcome of a billing investigation can request a further review through the municipality’s Customer Care.

Residents can also visit one of the municipality’s customer service centres, which are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 3.30pm, at:

• Mfanasekhaya Gqobose (Old City Treasurer) office, Govan Mbeki Avenue;

• Korsten office, opposite Livingstone Hospital;

• Uitenhage office, Uitenhage City Hall;

• Motherwell Thusong Centre, corner of Maku and Tyinirha streets, NU4B;

• New Brighton office, Ntshekisa Road;

• Walmer office, Heugh Road;

• Despatch office, Despatch City Hall;

• Cleary Park Shopping Centre office;

• Kwanobuhle office, Ponana Tini Road, next to the fire station; and

• Kwamagxaki office, Ralo Street. DM