13 Mar 2014

Parliament has been informed that 62 reports relating to high water bills were received from customers in Kanye between December 2013 and February 2014.

Answering a question in Parliament from MP for Kanye South, Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Mr Kitso Mokaila said out of the 62 reports, 54 had been resolved and eight were awaiting metre tests results.

The ministry was aware of queries or complaints on water bills that were continuously raised by customers and investigations revealed that bill queries usually arose when customers had high bills as a result of water theft, water leakages from the customer’s side and watering of livestock using potable water, he said.

Minister Mokaila said where findings revealed that the error was on the part of Water Utilities Corporation (WUC), the bills were adjusted accordingly and the customer’s account credited.

He said WUC continued to address Kgotla meetings in the area to educate the public on water usage and how that impacts on water bills. Mr Abram Kesupile had asked the minister if he was aware that complaints persisted in Kanye South over water bills that recipients claimed were far too high and did not reflect their levels of consumption.

He asked that if that was the case, why was WUC failing to address the problem to the satisfaction of its customers and what would be done to avoid loss of confidence on the corporation. Ends