| No judgment yet in Phiri water case |
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| Written by George Matlala | |
| Thursday, 06 December 2007 | |
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Phiri residents have taken the City to court, charging that installing prepaid water meters is unlawful. But Joburg says it is doing all it can to get services to all residents. THE City of Joburg is taking reasonable measures within its available resources to provide all its residents with basic water services. This was said in the Johannesburg High Court by the City's legal team, in response to claims by the residents of Phiri, Soweto that Joburg's move to install prepaid water meters in that area was unconstitutional and unlawful. 
Joburg water at work: Gilbert Marcus, counsel for Joburg, said the City is upgrading water infrastructure to provide water to all its residents
Joburg's legal team argued that the municipality was meeting its obligation to provide basic services to all its people, especially the poor. In his submission on Wednesday, 4 December, Gilbert Marcus, senior counsel, noted that the government heavily subsidised basic water services in Johannesburg and that water was being supplied below its cost. He told the court that the City was providing indigents with 10 kilolitres of free water a month, which was equivalent to 50 litres a day for each person in a family of seven. The municipality's policies allowed families to come forward if they needed more free water. Marcus argued that the City's decision to install prepaid water meters under Operation Gcin'amanzi, Joburg Water's multibillion-rand project to upgrade water infrastructure in Soweto, had helped residents to consume less than their free basic water allocation, thus paying nothing for water services, which used to be charged a flat-rate of R157 a month. The Constitution gave municipalities a right to finance their affairs by charging fees for services. In terms of the Municipal Systems Act, local governments had a right to exercise any power in the performance of their functions. Marcus stressed that Joburg's provision of a R355-million social package, which included the supply of free water services, free sanitation and refuse removal to particular vulnerable groups, were indications that the City was committed to improving the quality of lives of all its citizens, especially the poor. Lawyers representing the residents of Phiri argued that the City's decisions to supply indigents with six kilolitres of free basic water and install prepayment meters were unconstitutional and unlawful. The City did not consult residents when it decided to install the meters; instead it persuaded them to buy the idea, said senior counsellor Wim Trengove. He challenged the court to order the City to provide the residents of Phiri with a free basic water supply of 50 litres per person per day. Judge Moroa Tsoka postponed judgment on the matter. Nthatise Modingoane, Joburg's spokesperson, disputed claims made by the residents, saying that installation of prepaid meters in Phiri was one of the programmes the municipality undertook to improve the lives of all its citizens, especially the poor. "The City wishes to state categorically that all its programmes are aimed at improving the lives of all the citizens with the emphasis being on the poor." Joburg was not in court to win the case, but rather to show that it was doing all it could to supply basic water services to all its residents. "We are doing as much as our resources allow us, to supply basic water services to all our people." He noted that the provision of a comprehensive social package was part of the City's commitment to helping the poor. There was also a campaign to help residents who were willing to pay for municipal services but who were unable to do so.
Operation Gcin'amanzi 
The City has reduced unaccounted-for water from over 40 percent to 32 percent this year
Before the intervention, monthly water consumption per property in Soweto was 66 kilolitres, thanks to the ageing infrastructure. "Monthly water consumption per property in areas where the project has been undertaken has dropped to an average of 11 kilolitres, representing a percentage reduction in water demand of 85 percent," he said. Some 55 percent of residents in certain areas where meters had been installed consumed less than their free water allocation. "The remaining 45 percent pay an average of R48,24 per month per household for water services, compared to R157 per month that was previously charged to their individual accounts on deemed consumption," he said. "The City is confident that it is taking reasonable measures within its available resources to improve the lives of our people and will endeavour to progressively improve service delivery." In 2002, Joburg undertook to supply all households with six kilolitres of free basic water. However, this has been increased to 10 kilolitres per household for registered indigents.
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