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By Bulelwa Payi 
11h ago
Cape Town – Civic organizations have urged Cape Town to re-evaluate the water rate structure, as the city currently enjoys an “abundance” of water.
The City has indicated that it was considering implementing an “unrestricted or water-based rate.”
But home and business owners were warned that it would not mean a significant reduction in water rates.
Xanthea Limberg, Mayco member for water and sanitation, said that the costs of supplying water were high and that consumption was currently “suppressed”.
“This limits how much the City could reduce the rate,” Limberg said.
It said the unrestricted water rate would provide “slight relief” to its estimated 670,000 customers if implemented, adding that the amount of rate relief should be balanced with the “additional resources” needed to develop new water sources.
Under current Tier 1 water restrictions, customers are charged R 17.92 for consumption of up to 6 kiloliters of water and Rand 22.40 for sanitation services between 4.2 and 7.35kl.
If the restriction levels were reduced to 0, saving up to 6kl of water consumption would translate into 55c and R1.43 for sanitation.
For customers who currently use up to 15kl of water and who currently pay R390.43, below level 0, they would pay R361.85.
The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted that because the drought was over, taxpayers “naturally demanded a return to previous tariff levels.”
“The City Council’s reaction is to lecture them on climate change, the need to keep things the way they are and keep the rates for drought, drought or no drought,” said House Speaker Janine Myburgh.
The Civic Alliance of Greater Cape Town (GCTCA) said its concern was the implementation of service charges, and the corresponding VAT, on a basic service that a municipality should already provide, in terms of its role, through the income rates received.
GCTCA Secretary Lesley Ashton said the “manipulation” and lack of transparency of future budget planning for service costs made it “impossible” to accept the burden of service taxes.
“We believe that the taxpayer is not a source of income to bear the charges for services carried out by creative accounting.
“People are frustrated and angry,” Ashton said.
Stop CoCT spokeswoman Sandra Dickson also called for the restructuring of the entire water rate structure process and accused the City of being rigid.
“Taxpayers must be consulted through an appropriate public participation process. They need to explain how they arrive at the rates they charge us, ”said Dickson.
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