- A faulty water meter and an underground leak resulted in a wildly inflated bill of over R100,000.
- The City failed to investigate the fault within the required timeframes and did not apply lawful billing methods.
- The Public Protector issued a binding remedial action, requiring the City to recalculate the bill and credit the account.
The City of Tshwane issued a water bill of over R100,000 to Dr Pully Molokwane after a faulty meter and underground leak caused her consumption readings to spike abnormally. The Public Protector has found that the City failed to investigate the fault, ignored the prescribed billing methodology, and acted unlawfully throughout.
Molokwane lodged a complaint against the City of Tshwane after her municipal account ballooned due to a faulty water meter and a suspected underground leak. She reported the fault to the municipality, but the City failed to inspect the meter within its own prescribed timeframes and never identified the source of the leak. Despite a formal dispute being lodged, the City pressed ahead with payment demands and ultimately terminated her services.
Findings on delay and failure to investigate
The Public Protector found that the City dragged its feet in attending to the complaint and failed to comply with its own Service Norms and Standards. In a report, the Public Protector said, “The City unduly delayed attending to the complainant’s report of a faulty water meter and water leak.”
The report confirms that the municipality missed both the 21-day turnaround time for faulty meter investigations and the 24-hour response requirement for leaking meters.
The investigation also found that the City skipped the necessary technical steps before issuing the bill. The report records, “The municipality failed to test the water meter or determine the precise location of the leak before retrospectively adjusting the account.”
Findings on unlawful billing
The Public Protector found that the City simply ignored the mandatory adjustment methodology. The report states, “The City did not apply the methodology prescribed by Clause 27(1) of the Water Supply By Laws.”
The report further records that the charges issued were “inaccurate, unverifiable, and arbitrary” and fell short of the standard required by section 95 of the Municipal Systems Act.
The Public Protector also found that the City’s conduct fell short of the standard for lawful, reasonable, and procedurally fair administrative action. The report states, “The conduct did not meet the standard required by Section 33 of the Constitution.”
Overall, the conduct of municipal officials was found to constitute improper conduct, maladministration, and undue delay.
The report also aimed at a prior adjustment the City had made. “The partial relief granted was not based on a lawful investigation or proper billing methodology,” it read/
Binding remedial action
The Public Protector directed the City Manager of Tshwane to, within 30 days, review and correctly recalculate Molokwane’s water consumption in line with the methodology prescribed by Clause 27(1) of the Water Supply By Laws.
The City must also credit the account in full for any portion of the bill that was incorrectly levied or not compliant with section 95 of the Municipal Systems Act.
Within 60 days, the City must put institutional mechanisms in place to ensure accurate metering, lawful billing practices, and timely responses to service and billing complaints.
The City Manager must submit an action plan to the Public Protector within 30 days, detailing the steps taken to implement the remedial action.
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