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South Africa: City of Joburg to Appeal Soweto Water Meter Ruling
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BuaNews (Tshwane)
14 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008
The battle between the right to access to water and ensuring people save water is not over in Soweto as the City of Johannesburg is to appeal against the court's decision to have the pre-paid water meters in Soweto removed, writes Bathandwa Mbola.
The municipality is to appeal against the court's decision, Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Amos Masondo announced on Wednesday despite residents highlighting major problems with the metering system.
The project was put in place as a water saving initiative and to upgrade the water-reticulation network in Soweto.
The R880 million project was also aimed at cutting water loss adding up to about seven-billion litres a month in Soweto.
Briefings reporters on Wednesday, Mr Masondo said the city had carefully studied the judgment in close consultation with the municipality's legal team.
"Our basis for appeal will be set out systematically in the legal judgment.
"We believe the judgment has been distorted somewhat and we would like to place our perspective on the matter," said Mr Masondo, adding that the appeal would be registered at the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The municipality's Operation Gcina' Amanzi (meaning save water) was challenged by a group of residences in Phiri, Soweto.
The project saw residents being allocated six kilolitres of free water a month per household and had to pay before using more water.
However, the Johannesburg High Court ruled last week that the installation of prepaid water meters was unconstitutional because it infringed on the residents rights to access to water.
Judge Moroa Tsoka said the meters discriminated between the applicants and other residents within the municipality.
"While other residents of the city get water on credit from the respondents, the applicants do not," said Judge Tsoka, adding that the residents of Sandton were given an opportunity to settle their arrears.
He said other Johannesburg residents had a chance to make presentations concerning the arrears and the settlement thereof.
The residents of Phiri, a poor and predominantly a black area, were denied this right, he said in his judgement.
"This is not only unreasonable, unfair and inequitable, it is also discriminatory solely on the basis of colour," Judge Tsoka outlined.
Since the judgment was handed down last week, the municipality has halted the installation of further water meters in the township. Over 50 000 more meters to be installed in this financial year.
Mr Masondo, however, argued that it was never the intention of the city only provide pre-paid metering in poorer parts of the municipality.
He said the communities were consulted and educated on the project before the implementation of it.
"The city has been developing policies and plans for extending pre-payment metering to these areas.
"We believe that the introduction of pre-payment metres, coupled with a dynamically expanding social package that gives poor households more and more water for free, is the best way to progressively realise the right of access to water," he said.
Mr Masondo explained that the project was part of a broader project to upgrade the water infrastructure in Soweto.
"The project includes a thorough check of the water infrastructure on each site, fixing leaking taps, broken water pipes and faulty geysers."
Mr Masondo continued that this had enabled residents to manage their consumption and argues that many household now use less than their free water allocation and thus paying "nothing" for water services.
Before the intervention, monthly water consumption per property in Soweto was 66 kilolitres, because of the ageing infrastructure.
However, water consumption per property in areas where meters have been installed has dropped to an average of 11 kilolitres, representing a percentage reduction in water demand of 85 percent.
The mayor said about 55 percent of residents in certain areas where meters had been installed consumed less than their free water allocation.
Since the start of Operation Gcin'amanzi, 80 000 meters have been installed and over 52 000 megalitres of water saved.
Mr Masondo said the introduction of prepaid meters in 2001 had resulted in a reduction of unaccounted-for water loss from 40 percent to 32 percent last year.
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Feasibility studies were being carried out in Diepsloot, Alexander and Ivory Park to extend the operation to one of these areas.
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