GOOD statement by Lulama Benge,GOOD Councillor in the City of Cape Town
25 July 2024
The GOOD party calls on the City of Cape Town to withdraw a fixed basic charge for water that has become permanent despite being introduced as a temporary measure during the drought.
The water restrictions imposed due to poor rainfall in 2018 resulted in greatly reduced revenue from water usage which impacted the City’s ability to cover the maintenance costs.
The City then opted to rework the water tariff structure and included a fixed component to make it more sustainable. This essentially brought in a drought charge, on top of service charges, that was supposed to only remain in place for a period of six months to ensure recovery.
However, it remained on consumers’ water bills and was absurdly based on the size of the pipes:
15 mm cost R87, 29
20 mm cost R155, 87
25 mm cost R243, 15
Residents in the City can no longer carry this unnecessary financial burden on behalf of the City.
The current water challenges in the City are linked to a failing maintenance plan and it’s not the responsibility of consumers to cover these costs. Unlike Mother Nature, an effective maintenance plan is under the control of the Municipality.
GOOD has therefore tabled a motion in Council, today, to demand that this fixed charge finally be withdrawn and all policies relating to this be scrapped, that a plan for the termination of this charge be laid out in time for the next budget and to call for a full investigation into cost-saving measures within the City to cover the costs of services needed.
The City of Cape Town must put its residents first and alleviate any unnecessary pressure amid a growing cost-of-living crisis in South Africa.
Media enquiries:
Janke Tolmay, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 0733671223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za