Note to editors: Please find soundbite by Cllr Ngiphiwe Smoh Xulu – DA eThekwini Councillor
– Sizakala staff are unequipped to assist residents with Water Surcharge Levy claims.
– The levy is intended to provide relief for qualifying underground water leaks.
– It is unacceptable to introduce a relief mechanism without properly equipping officials to implement it.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini strongly condemns the Municipality’s failure to adequately prepare frontline staff to assist residents with claims relating to the newly introduced Water Surcharge Levy.
The levy is intended to provide relief to residents affected by underground, undetected and verified water leaks by allowing qualifying households to submit claims for assistance. However, recent oversight visits to various Sizakala Centres across eThekwini revealed that staff have neither been informed about nor trained to administer the new claims process.
It is unacceptable for the Municipality to introduce a relief mechanism without ensuring that the officials responsible for implementing it are properly equipped to do so. A programme is only as effective as its implementation. Without trained staff, the levy cannot serve its intended purpose, leaving residents to bear the consequences of poor planning and inadequate communication.
The current situation at Sizakala Centres means that residents who are already struggling with high water bills risk being turned away or provided with incorrect information when seeking assistance. This undermines public confidence and denies residents the support the Municipality claims to be providing.
The DA will raise this matter at the next Finance Committee meeting and call for the immediate training of frontline staff, clear operational guidelines, and the full implementation of the Water Surcharge Levy process across all Sizakala Centres.