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Water cut is 'worst punishment'
10/05/2007 20:59 - (SA)
Ntomboxolo Makoba
Cape Town - Guguletu pensioner July Kasamula, 78, has had to live without water for 3½ years.
Kasamula said her water supply was cut because she couldn't afford to pay Cape Town municipality for the service.
Since then, she has had to carry buckets of water from an informal settlement 150m away.
She said living without water was the "worst punishment" she had ever received and, as a pensioner, she deserved better treatment from the government.
She said: "Living without water is painful and stressful. I can't believe they are treating me like this."
Kasamula, who lives with her 51-year-old unemployed son, said most of her social grant was spent on employing someone to look after her, and that she struggled to pay for basic services.
'Forced to live without water'
Although she said she had approached various officials for help, nothing had been done.
The city is determined to get what's owed to it, however, and has intensified its drive to collect money or cut off services.
According to the city, up to 500 households a day were being targeted for arrears bills.
At the end of February, it was owed R3.5bn.
Chairperson of the Guguletu Social Movement, Mcedisi Twalo, said at least 18 families in Guguletu, and 19 families in Langa were forced to live without any water whatsoever.
Langa resident, Lilian Ndlazi, 48, said she and her extended family of 30 people, who lived with her had been without water for a month after it was cut off by city officials who produced a "white paper" stating she had to negotiate payment.
'Not dealing with situation'
But Ndlazi, who is unemployed, said when she went to the city offices she was told to pay more than R4 000 to have her water reconnected.
"Where will I get R4 000? The grant I get for my children is not enough," she said.
Twalo said the not even the local ward councillor was willing to deal with the problem.
Guguletu ward councillor Nombulelo Ntloko said: "I can't speak to the media, I need authority from my constituency."
Derek Harris, city director of revenue, denied that households were being left completely dry.
Harris said that where service bills were in arrears, the city was using a restriction device that limited the supply to six kilolitres of free water a month.
Tampering leads to blockage
He said the city was willing to help residents if they came forward and negotiated payment on their water bills.
He said the city was "dealing" with about 500 houses a day across the city.
When told of Kasamula and others who claimed they got no water, he said the problem was that people tampered with the restriction device, resulting in the complete blockage of the water supply.
He said that out of 330 000 letters of final demand sent to residents, only 132 000 people had come forward to negotiate payment.
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