Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Carina Serfontein and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ngwathe fully supports the principle of responsible revenue collection to ensure sustainable service delivery. However, we are deeply concerned by reports that several residents were wrongly disconnected on Monday in Koppies, despite complying with the municipality’s request to report to the office for verification.
According to affected residents, even after reporting the issue, it took several hours for reconnections to be effected. Many have also indicated that they were unaware of any outstanding property tax/municipal inheritance tax amounts and had not received any municipal statements notifying them of arrears before the disconnections.
What is further concerning is that some residents who were disconnected for alleged non-payment, without any prior notice or account being issued, were later reconnected without making any payment. In contrast, others were only reconnected after making payments, and some remained without electricity even a day later.
This inconsistent handling of the situation raises serious questions about the fairness, accuracy, and internal controls of the municipality’s billing and disconnection processes.
The DA believes that effective communication and fair administrative processes are fundamental to maintaining public trust and cooperation in revenue collection efforts.
Wrongful disconnections not only cause unnecessary hardship to residents but also undermine the credibility of the municipality’s billing and debt recovery systems.
We therefore call on the Municipal Manager to urgently:
- Investigate the cause of the wrongful disconnections and ensure accountability where applicable.
- Review internal procedures for verifying accounts before any disconnection is authorised; and
- Ensure that all residents receive accurate and regular municipal statements, particularly regarding property tax accounts.
We remain committed to supporting fair, transparent, and lawful revenue collection processes that balance the municipality’s financial sustainability with the fair and respectful treatment of residents.