Durban — A motion dealing with the reimbursement of collection charges and undelivered refuse bin bags will come under discussion at the next eThekwini Executive Committee meeting in October.
It is an obligation for eThekwini to provide services to those residents who are able to pay and those who are not, said DA councillor Rory Macpherson.
It is similarly unjust, wrong and unfair to bill residents for services that have not been provided, he said.
Residents, businesses, retail and hospitality are reeling from declining service delivery levels, political instability and ongoing strikes yet they pay their inflated utility and rates bills on time with the express understanding that this municipality provides world-class service delivery to all, wrote Macpherson in the motion.
The DA motion asked the city to consider refunding ratepayers for the non-removal of refuse resulting from the ongoing Durban Solid Waste (DSW) strike and refunding ratepayers for refuse bags being charged for but not delivered.
Member of the eThekwini Executive Committee Councillor Yogiswarie Govender said the motion came about after DA councillors had been inundated by requests from angry residents, calling for refunds on their municipal bills, whereby they claim to be charged for services not rendered.
The DSW charges relate to the collection of domestic refuse, garden refuse and bin bags. Govender said these were blanket charges while a large percentage of the community did not get value for money.
“The ongoing strikes and go-slows in DSW have directly impacted on regular removal of household refuse meaning that the affected residents have to drop their refuse at the dump themselves,” she said.
Govender said the problem was exacerbated when the residents found that dumps had been closed either due to a strike or simply unable to accept any further refuse due to the dump being at full capacity.
Govender said the issue was raised several times with the city management and DSW but there was never any formal response or decision taken on how to remedy the issue of the tariffs that had been levied against utility bills for services not rendered.
Govender claimed that DSW appeared to have no proper accounting, auditing, delivery schedule or plan regarding the allocation of refuse bin bags.
“Despite demanding that they develop a system of accountability and consequence management, whereby residents and councillors alike, are able to tell which suburbs are scheduled for delivery and when this has not been forthcoming. Neither is there accountability for why the stock is sitting with depots for months and not being delivered,” Govender said.
“The approval of this motion is a small but very progressive step in getting the city to acknowledge that it cannot tax the already burdened taxpayer with the tariffs and costs that are not commensurate with services.”
It might be a long process for consumers to actually realise the refund that they are calling for and the onus will be on the consumer to prove that they did not receive the services for which they are billed, added Govender.
Daily News