Residents of Musina are not too impressed with the local municipality's practice of cutting off the electricity supply when consumers fall in arrears with their water bills. This is despite the residents' paying for their pre-paid electricity.
Residents who spoke to Limpopo Mirror complained that the municipality does not seem to respect their rights in this regard. When they fall in arrears with their water bills, the municipality responds by cutting off their electricity.
Because water is a basic human right, the municipality is not allowed to cut the supply. According to the National Water Act, a minimum quantity of potable water of 25 litres per person per day, or six kilolitres per household per month, must be provided to residents, irrespective of the state of their account. However, the law does seem to allow municipalities to disconnect electricity if the water account and other charges levied on the property have not been paid.
"According to the council policy on credit control and debt collection, the municipality is allowed to cut off municipal services if a consumer is in arrears and no payment arrangement has been made with the municipality," said Musina Municipality's spokesperson, Mr Wilson Dzebu.
Some residents were also concerned that the electricity is being cut off even when legitimate disputes concerning the water bills exist. "I don't understand why the municipality continues to cut off my electricity. I pay my water bill every month," said Tshieisi Sitelela (80) from Nancefield.
He explained that, in 2017, the municipality sent him a R3 000 bill. "I paid for it all. On December 6 last year, I paid my water bill, but I was surprised when they cut the electricity off again before the end of the month. Now my water bill is suddenly in arrears. This is corruption. I am not going to pay the R11 000 water bill the municipality sent me," he said.
Dzebu said the municipality would investigate Sitelela's situation.