[Thanks to ANC rule, things which used to work aren’t working so well any more. Look at this mess in Pretoria. Jan]

Some city residents are still experiencing problems with the municipality’s electricity billing system, claiming that they are being overcharged. Other residents are complaining about the amount of faulty streetlights in the city.

According to Johnny Fraser, a home owner in Pretoria North, he and a number of people are being charged between R7 000 and R12 000 for electricity and water. This comes as a shock to Fraser, who is said to owe R10 000. He says he has not skipped any monthly payments.

œI bought my house three years ago and have never missed a payment. This is ridiculous “ I fail to understand how they can claim I owe that much money.

‘I fail to understand how they can claim I owe that much money’
œI knew something was wrong when they failed to deliver my bill over the past three months. Each time I had to call them to ask what my rates were for the month, he said.

After receiving his account, Fraser, who is currently staying in Witbank, said he was unsuccessful in getting in touch with the municipality.

When this occurred he decided to drive back to Pretoria and find out in person what the problem was.

He added: œI still received poor service then: I was sent to five different departments. There were other people in line who had the same problems. Eventually I decided to pay R2 000 “ but then I was told that I should pay the rest over the next year.

œI do not understand why I should have to do this if I have paid my rates and I have never missed payment on my electricity and water account. I have the proof, but it was not enough to convince the people at the municipality.

‘I understand the difficulties the council may be facing’
œIt has been two weeks and still my R2 000 deposit does not show on my account. There is serious misconduct at the Tshwane municipality and this needs to be addressed urgently.

Fraser thought he had found a solution to his problems when an employee at the municipality said a technical error, which would be sorted out, was to blame, but the employee and her boss are now on leave and will only return in January. Meanwhile he has no choice but to pay.

The Tshwane Metropolitan Council could not be reached for comment.

A Clydesdale resident is demanding action from the Tshwane Metro Council in the hope that he won’t have to spend Christmas in the dark.

Streetlights in the area have not been working for more than a month, and despite his complaints, nothing has been done.

The Farenden Street resident claims he called the council three weeks ago to complain, but to no avail. œI understand the difficulties the council may be facing, but I was assured something would be done.

œA lot of elderly people stay in this area and the streets are dark at night, he said.

Council spokesperson Antoinette Mostert said the Clydesdale streetlight problem was the result of a severe storm œsome time ago.

œThe method used by the repair teams was to list breakdowns according to priority. At the top of this list was to re-establish consumer services by repairing connections on a temporary basis and then on a permanent basis.

œServices like streetlights were also affected in the storm but, being at a lower priority, permanent repairs were done at a later stage, she said.

Mostert said the managing engineer had promised that Clydesdale residents would have streetlights in time for Christmas.

New streetlight problems can be reported on the toll free number 080 1111 770 or 327 0115 or 327 0117.

This article was originally published on page 3 of Pretoria News on December 19, 2005

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>