DA warns Mangaung Metro to stop stealing water revenue from citizens

by Rossouw Botes – DA Mangaung Cllr
Date: 27 November 2020
Release: Immediate
Reliable sources have confirmed that Bloemwater has started to gradually reduce the water supply in Mangaung today. This is after R20 million has been paid over to Bloemwater, however they are awaiting another R23 million payment by Mangaung before restoring full supply. There has not been any confirmation of the R23 million payment yet.
Despite continual DA warnings to desist, Mangaung Metro has continually been misappropriating revenue obtained from residents for water consumption, which we insist must be used to pay Bloemwater in full on a monthly basis before it is used for any other purpose. According to financial reports by Mangaung, it has received water revenue of over R511 million between August 2019 and October 2020 while only paying R418 million over to Bloemwater.
The City retained more than R93 million water revenue for purposes other than paying our massive debt and monthly water consumption account to Bloemwater. This simply means theft in the eyes of residents who pay their account on a monthly basis only to hear of looming water suspensions due to non-payment every few months.
The DA has been warning Mangaung and its residents that the continued failure of the Mangaung Metro to honour its payment responsibilities towards Bloemwater may sound the final death knell to this water board. In June we asked council to direct the administration of the Metro to ring-fence all payments it receives for water from consumers and transfer these funds to Bloemwater on a monthly basis.
Two questions we have repeatedly asekd and that remain unanswered is: What is Mangaung doing with the money they get in from water revenue? and: Why are they not taking action to collect the R1 billion debt owed to Mangaung by the provincial government?.
Our public representatives at national and provincial level are engaging both the Department of Water and Sanitation as well as the Provincial Government in order to try and ensure that Bloemwater remains operational, but basic logic dictates that there is no way in which Bloemwater could remain operational if it is not paid for delivering bulk water by municipalities.
Should the situation not be resolved and lead to water interruptions to residents, the DA will lay criminal charges against the top management, political leadership and intervention team for the theft of water revenue meant to pay Bloemwater.
If Mangaung was governed by the DA, proper financial management and sustainable delivery of basic services would have been a reality.