A Diepsloot resident who has incurred a water bill of over R100,000 has slammed the City of Johannesburg for failing to resolve his billing dispute.
Diepsloot’s Jonas Mathevula from Extension 4 says he is furious at Joburg Water for failing to resolve his R100,000 billing dispute. He says the bill has been erroneously billed to him instead of his neighbour, who runs a lucrative 15-room rental property.
Mathevula said his water supply connection had been erroneously shared with his neighbour for months, leading to him incurring an exorbitant bill.
Mathevula, who works as security guard, lives in a R500,000 valued RDP home, which has four rental rooms on his 250 square metre yard.
The 60-year-old said his problems began in May last year, when he noticed his water bills skyrocketing, leaving him puzzled.
"I began to suspect that my water bill was too high and something seemed off. I then went to the water meter box and shut off the water supply to my yard."
When he shut off the water supply, his neighbour’s water also stopped, leaving him stunned.
Mathevula alleges that his neighbour, who owns a double-story house with over 15 rooms, was connected to his water supply.
Mathevula claimed that tenants in his neighbour’s house began complaining about a water shortage.
“The same month, I went straight to Joburg Water’s offices to file a complaint. They came and inspected the pipes and found that my neighbour’s water supply was illegally connected to mine,” he said.
He said the officials and his neighbour admitted there was a problem.
“The officials then disconnected the pipes, and my neighbour legally connected to the pipe.”
He said the officials promised to cancel the overcharged bill, but they have failed to do so.
Mathevula said before the bill was inflated, he had been paying between R2,000 and R3,000 a month for water over the past few years.
He also claimed that before realising that there was an issue with his water bill, he had paid over R100,000 to Joburg Water.
"I went to their offices more than five times to complain, but nothing changed. Paying that high bill has hit my wallet hard due to added interest and fees," he said.
He claimed that despite the Joburg Water officials’ promise to cancel the bill, nothing has happened, and now he has been paying R5,000 a month since the issue began.
The father of six said he's frustrated that his salary now goes entirely to the water bill and is even considering selling his house to ease the burden.
“Every month, after paying the bill, I'm left with nothing and struggling to manage my budget. I’m now considering selling the house because my attempts to fix the issue have failed,” Mathevula said.
A water bill for April 2024, seen by IOL News, shows an outstanding debt of over R55,000.
Mathevula has called on Joburg Water to take immediate action to resolve his billing issue and restore trust in the billing system.
Joburg Water spokesperson Nolwazi Dhlamini, was given three days to respond to questions from IOL News, but failed to provide feedback before the article was published.
The following questions were sent to Dhlamini:
- What has caused the delay in fixing the water pipe issue reported by the Diepsloot resident in May 2023?
- Why was the problem acknowledged but not resolved promptly?
- Are there any current plans to repair the affected water pipes, and if so, what is the expected timeline?
- What recourse does the resident have for being overcharged due to the unauthorised connection by his neighbour?
- Has Joburg Water conducted any inspections in the area to verify the resident’s claim of an illegal connection?
- How can residents escalate unresolved issues if Joburg Water does not take timely action?
- Will the resident receive a refund or adjustment on his water bill for the excess charges incurred since May 2023?
- Anything to add? Please feel free to do so.
IOL News