The eThekwini Municipality has assured residents that there is no court interdict that has been granted by any court of law preventing the city from disconnecting services to those boycotting payments.
The city has noted a misleading post circulating on social media which states “a massive victory for the Westville Ratepayers’ Association (WRA) as courts interdict eThekwini from disconnecting services to them while they boycott paying for services directly to eThekwini and instead pay to a separate trust account”.
The WRA and the municipality have been at loggerheads since the start of the year. The WRA accused the city of poor service delivery and dilapidated infrastructure. WRA chairman, Asad Gaffar, said earlier this year that the money owed to the municipality would be placed in a trust pending their demands. The municipality held a meeting with WRA on August 10, but there was no resolution.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said: “We wish to clarify that there is no court interdict in place. The facts are that an application for an interdict has been made by the Westville Ratepayers’ Association and this application is scheduled to be heard on November 1 in the Durban High Court. The Municipality’s Legal Department is attending to this matter and are not able to discuss the merits of the case any further since it is subject to court processes.”
Through the Office of the Speaker, a series of engagements with ratepayers led by Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda are currently taking place throughout the city to assure them of the city’s commitment to provide quality services. The city encourages residents to continue paying their accounts as non-payment will attract interest, said Ms Sisilana.
The municipality will continue implementing credit control measures in line with the relevant policies and municipal by-laws where accounts are in arrears. This includes disconnections which attract a reconnection fee, provided there is no tampering with the meter.
If there are illegal connections, the meter will be removed, and the new application process will have to be followed by the customer to get a new meter, Ms Sisilana said.
The longer that payments are delayed, the greater the amount to be paid and services will possibly be disrupted in terms of the policy, she added. Where there are genuine financial difficulties with payment, residents can visit any Sizakala Centre to make payment arrangements, in terms of the policy, that are more affordable.
On their website the WRA said they are withholding the full municipal account and have taken a decision to protect all the money. They added that if there were any disconnections the WRA would seek an urgent application in the High Court to get residents reconnected, thereby obtaining a spoliation order that prevents the city from executing any further disconnections. The WRA is carrying the legal costs of the campaign.
“The WRA will be holding public money in an account held in trust. Participants will receive a statement showing receipt of their payment. The WRA will forward this information to the municipality as proof that your payment has been made but deferred to a safe place,” it was noted on statement posted on the website.
The WRA demands include that the 2023/2024 tariff increases be set aside; the concerns raised by the ratepayers be heard and considered in drafting a new budget; an independent oversight committee be established to ensure that work being undertaken is done so by skilled people and that inflated contracts stop being awarded and that systems are in place to ensure full financial accountability.
