The Mbombela Local Municipality is penalising residents who have taken it upon themselves to meet their own water needs by imposing hefty levies on private boreholes.
Several areas such as Hazyview, White River, Barberton and various rural communities have been plagued by unreliable or a complete lack of municipal water supply for years. In some areas, tap water is severely contaminated, while other areas receive water by tanker only once a week – and sometimes have to pay for it as well.
Due to the Municipality’s ongoing failure to provide water supply, many residents have decided to drill boreholes at their own expense to become self-sufficient.
Instead of welcoming this self-sufficiency, the Municipality is levying monthly charges:
• Residential properties: R406,50 per borehole
• Businesses: R877,12 per borehole
• Greenway Woods: R8 953,20 (more than one borehole)
• Pine Lake Inn: R6 688,15 (more than one borehole)
The latter two are popular tourism destinations near the Kruger National Park that are already under immense operational cost pressure.
It is unacceptable that residents were not supplied with potable water and are then financially penalised for finding an alternative.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) submitted a motion to the Speaker, Morris Mazibane, requesting that these levies be reconsidered, drastically reduced or scrapped altogether.
After more than three decades of the Municipality making empty promises, the party will not allow it to further exploit residents who find their own solutions.
