Durban — Newlands East residents held a protest on Wednesday opposing the electricity and water bill tariffs increases which the eThekwini Municipality is set to impose.
Protest organiser and representative of the Newlands East Interim Crisis Committee, Graham Gaines, said that committee represented the interests of the community of Newlands East.
Gaines said a group of concerned persons within the community had come together to raise the concerns of this marginalised community. Gaines said there were a myriad social and service delivery issues that the committee wished to raise. Central to these issues was the extremely high electricity tariffs and the recent increase in the monthly municipal statements.
“Newlands East is a marginalised community that comprises several senior citizens who rely solely on the state’s monthly pension.
“This sector of the community provides for the immediate family. Unemployment within the community is at an all-time high and is likely to continue.
“Both factors impact heavily on resources and the added financial demands by the municipality has become a challenge for members within the community,” Gaines said.
On behalf of residents, the committee issued a memorandum with the following demands:
- That the municipality write off the undue credit incurred by the technical error of 6kl of water given to some residents.
- That the municipality withdraw its current practice of demanding additional payments for water from residents whose homes are valued at R300 000 or more. The error of “free water” is municipal, and has nothing to do with the residents of Newlands East. The residents demand that this debt be written off.
- That the municipality withdraw the plan to request residents to pay an additional R180 a month on their municipal bill until the debt is paid in full.
- That the city manager meets with the delegation from the community.
- That the current increases are “frozen” until an alternate solution has been found by both parties.
At the time of writing it was not certain if a representative from the municipality received the memorandum.
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