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Lower water tariffs will ease financial pressure on residents

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Dear Editor

As the cost-of-living crisis spirals out of control across South Africa, the DA-led Kouga Municipality has been able to bring some financial relief to its residents, by lowering water tariffs.

Today, 7 November 2023, a Special Council meeting approved the decision to lower the punitive water tariffs that were put in place while the municipality was still in the grip of a debilitating drought. The decision will come into effect at the end of November.

The council was able to take this decision as the Department of Water and Sanitation lifted the water restrictions on most of the supply systems, following the recent significant rains.

The actions of this DA-led government stand in sharp contrast with the ANC-led coalition government in Nelson Mandela Bay, which has blatantly refused to even discuss lowering water tariffs in the Metro.

At the most recent Nelson Mandela Bay Council meeting, the DA submitted a Motion of Public Interest to the Speaker of the Council, to debate reducing the punitive water tariffs. The Speaker of Council refused to discuss the matter.

It is clear from the actions of the ANC and its coalition partners, that they do not care about the suffering of individual ratepayers, nor do they have any intention of easing the financial burdens that have, in part, been caused by their own maladministration and ineptitude.

It is well-documented that the extent of the water crisis in Nelson Mandela Bay was exacerbated by the years of poor planning and neglect of the city’s water infrastructure, resulting in significant water losses.

In sharp contrast, the Kouga Municipality, with limited resources, has put drought mitigation systems in place and deployed state-of-the-art new technologies to ensure water losses are kept to a bare minimum.

We are extremely proud of Mayor Hattingh Bornman and his team. Kouga is the shining example of the better quality of life residents can live in a DA-run municipality in the Eastern Cape. Since taking over the government of the Kouga Municipality in 2016, the DA has continuously made the well-being of the residents its highest priority.

The DA will continue to fight to rescue the Eastern Cape from the cost-of-living crisis that is bringing citizens of this province to their knees. Where the DA governs, we govern well.

Regards

Dr Vicky Knoetze MPL
Tsitsi-Kouga Constituency Leader

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