The City of Johannesburg notes the public concern over a social media and fundraising campaign for the Johannesburg SPCA and their high water bill.
The high water bill was flagged in May with Joburg Water, after which investigations by JW technical teams ruled out the possibility of a fault with the water meter or city infrastructure providing water to the property.
The NPO is pleading for debt relief due to them being oblivious to an underground water leak on the SPCA’s grounds that was identified and repaired by a private contractor employed by them on the advice of JW.
However, according to the City’s bylaw (Chapter 2, section 34), customers are solely responsible for any water wastage on their premises. Because business customers are billed on sewer according to their water use, reversals excess sewer usage billing cannot be done. The City of Johannesburg offers payment arrangements to consumers to manage their municipal bills, which should relieve the consumer in this instance.
While the City empathises with all users – public, private and civil - of its services, it remains their responsibility to not only control their usage but also monitor for any infrastructure faults within their property.
The City of Johannesburg is not in the position to offer debt relief, or a debt write-off based on the NPO status of the organisation. However, we propose to the Johannesburg SPCA, as we do with all our customers who have similar issues, that they approach our Revenue department to enter into an Acknowledgement of Debt (AOD) is an option to be entered into as part of a payment plan with specific terms manageable by the Johannesburg SPCA.
The City would further like to acknowledge that the Johannesburg SPCA is a diligent payer of their municipal account and wishes to commend their proactive approach to addressing their issues.
ENDS
For media queries, please contact:
Michelle Ashburner
Deputy Director: Stakeholder and Communications Management
Office of MMC for Finance
michellea@joburg.org.za / 078 800 3643
Nickolaus Bauer
Deputy Director: Stakeholder and Communications Management
Office of the MMC for EIS
Nickolausb@joburg.org.za / 072 397 2269
20/07/2022
