In South Africa, businessman disputes R1.5 million water bill — Daily Maverick
Adrian Smuts, a 74-year-old businessman from Gqeberha, South Africa, has been disputing a municipal water bill that rose to R1,565,385.60 for several months. The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality applied a credit, reducing the debt to about R30,000, but the man refused to pay it and demands that the bill be fully corrected. This was reported by Daily Maverick.
Smuts said that his water costs had never previously exceeded R300. He considers the charged amount impossible for his household and links the problem to the recording of meter readings and the municipality's billing data.
A reading of 4,919 kilolitres
According to the businessman, his household consumes no more than 5 kilolitres of water per month. For everyday needs, including flushing toilets, he mainly uses water from rainwater tanks, while tap water is used mostly for drinking, tea and cooking.
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One municipal bill stated consumption of 1 kilolitre for a month, while the next one showed 4,919 kilolitres. Smuts called such a reading implausible. He also complained that repeated visits to customer service centres take a lot of time, while the problem, in his view, recurs in subsequent bills.
Billing problems
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said that the municipality is considering billing disputes. Among the possible causes of billing problems, he named charges based on estimated readings when access to properties was impossible, faulty or replaced meters, excessive consumption due to leaks, and delays in technical inspections.
Ward 12 councillor Vernon Boggenpoel said that his office receives complaints about incorrect municipal bills almost every week. According to him, elderly residents experience such cases particularly acutely. Boggenpoel suggested that some high charges may be linked to the replacement of water meters for which no records were retained in the municipality's system.
