ADVERTISEMENT:

 

 
 

No water cuts this December

Date: 18 December 2017 By: Isabel Venter

There will be no water cuts this December as the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) threatened earlier.

According to Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, at least 30 municipalities came under scrutiny for a combined debt of R10.7 billion owed to the department’s water trading entity and various provincial water boards. VDM was listed among the top defaulting municipalities and, according to the DWS, owes an amount of R642 877 million.

Many residents were anxious, following the announcement by the DWS on 27 November that the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) owes millions in unpaid water bills, threatening that local taps will be closed on 8 December.

Shortly after Mokonyane's announcement, the portfolio committee on water issued a statement on 30 November, stating that the DWS's threat to defaulting debtors is not a viable solution to resolving the matter. The committee said it had decided that an alternative solution must be found, and reassured the public that water cuts will not be implemented. In the meantime, the committee also decided that no equitable share would be utilised to pay the water boards before the joint portfolio committees meet in March to reconsider the matter.

“To this end, the committee has instructed the executive authority of the DWS, the National Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to devise, within 14 days, a viable plan to solve the longstanding challenge,” said the chairperson of the committee, Mlungisi Johnson.

The VDM was one of a handful of the troubled municipalities that scraped together funds to pay. According to Mokonyane, a total of 11 municipalities had come forward with repayment arrangements.

The exact amount that the VDM is owing is, however, a total mystery. Following Mokonyane’s threats, the VDM was quick to respond, disputing the amount the DWS claimed was outstanding. When the VDM was interviewed by the newspaper, they said they believed they owed the department half of what was being claimed.

According to the VDM, a DWS delegation called upon the municipality on 10 July this year, informing them that they were R300 million in the red. The VDM said the DWS promised to quantify the bill, but had failed to do so.

With one day to spare before the DWS’s deadline, both parties came to an agreement. 

According to the municipal spokesperson, Mr Matodzi Ralushai, the disputed amount was resolved. “…and as the municipality indicated, it was half the amount that was mentioned,” confirmed Ralushai last Friday, a day after VDM and DWS got together. He was probed about the exact amount that had been agreed upon but declined to comment on this.

Judging by what the VDM has already paid, the outstanding amount will still be substantial. According to Ralushai, the VDM paid R40 million last week to ensure there are no water cuts. The VDM also committed to paying monthly instalments of R3.5 million to finalize the debt. “As a caring democratic government, people’s interests always come first,” said Ralushai.

 
 
 

Viewed: 727

 

 
 

Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

 
 

More photos... 

ADVERTISEMENT

 
 

ADVERTISEMENT:

 
 

ADVERTISEMENT