2009-10-08: Johannesburg welcomes judgement on water meters
The City of Johannesburg welcomes the judgement of the Constitutional Court on the legality of water meters installed in certain areas of Soweto.
The judgement brings to an end a lengthy legal process and provides final certainty to both the City and residents on this issue.
During the delivery of the judgment, Judge O’Regan among other things described the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water as “a government agency that has approached the challenges it faces with an impressive seriousness of purpose and commitment to improving the lives of the residents of the City in a sustainable fashion.”
Commenting about the judgment Member of Mayoral Committee for Infrastructure Christine Walters says “The City has maintained throughout that it is acting within its rights and according to legislation when offering residents a choice of having water meters installed at their premises.”
The programme, Operation Gcin’amanzi, was introduced in Phiri, Soweto, to enable residents to access the allocated free water they receive from the City and to manage their water consumption resulting in reducing the money they are spending on this resource every month.
At the same time, Johannesburg Water took measures to reduce the vast volume of water that is “lost” in the area daily through leakages. A new reticulation network was installed and Joburg Water went from home to home to fix basic plumbing problems such as leaking cisterns and taps free of charge. In the beginning of the year, it was calculated that Gcin’amanzi has, thus far, led to a saving of 110 million litres of water.
The City firmly believes in thorough consultation with residents on issues of service delivery. In the case of Phiri 98% of residents opted to have water meters installed.
“The judgement of the Constitutional Court will now be studied and decisions on the future of the programme be taken following a process of community participation,” says Cllr Walters.
The City remains committed to deliver accessible and affordable services to all residents. It has an exemplary record of pro-poor policies including an Expanded Social Package to assist residents with special needs to receive additional free water.
Issued by:
City of Johannesburg
Public Liaison Department
Virgil James
Spokesperson
Tel: 011 407 7226
Cell: 082 467 9415
Or contact Baldwin Matsemela on 082 859 0459
