eThekwini bypasses meters due to shortage
Some households in Durban are receiving electricity without functional prepaid meters, as municipality technicians have been instructed to bypass metering systems. However, the municipality said meter procurement process is at an advanced stage.
Spokesperson for eThekwini Municipality Gugu Sisilana said, 'As we are currently unable to replace meters, we are compelled to bypass them temporarily to ensure continued service to customers. During this period, customers will be billed based on estimated charges. The shortage of meters should be resolved in the next few months.'
The ongoing shortage of electricity meters in Durban has now affected a family in Merebank.
The couple, Kathereeku and Sarasvathie Govender, had their electricity supply cut off after their prepaid meter stopped working in September last year.
Also read: Wentworth woman loses everything in house fire
According to the family, their ordeal began at that point, when the prepaid system failed and has yet to be replaced.
Sarasvathi said they immediately reported this to eThekwini Municipality.
'The workers from eThekwini arrived at our home to fix our meter, however, instead of replacing it they told us that eThekwini Municipality is facing a severe shortage of electricity meters. They told us that they will bypass the meter,' said Govender.
Also read: Wentworth woman loses everything in house fire
The family stated that the municipal team did not explain the potential financial implications, and they now fear that they might eventually be held liable for a large, backdated electricity bill.
The Govenders also expressed confusion about where their current electricity supply is coming from, as no explanation was provided when the bypass was implemented.
The Southlands SUN visited the property last week, and upon inspection saw two electricity meter boxes.
'There is one that is functioning and supplying electricity to the bottom building. According to the family, the second meter supplies electricity to an additional building on the property.
'However, this meter has become ineffective, resulting in a lack of electricity supply to that part of the premises,' Govender added.
Sisilana said the current policies of the municipality does not permit two meters per property.
'However, this could have been a historical fitment where the City used to install a second meter on the same property which has a separate dwelling unit,' said Sisilana.
For more Southlands Sun news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Tourism stakeholders reject eThekwini Municipality's proposed levy
A helicopter view of the Durban beachfront Image: File The eThekwini Municipality's recent proposal to introduce a tourism levy has sparked significant opposition from local tourism bodies, highlighting the challenges and complexities facing Durban's tourism sector. The city's Economic Development and Planning Committee recently recommended that Durban Tourism initiate a comprehensive feasibility study on the potential introduction of a tourism levy in eThekwini. According to the City, the purpose of the study is to explore the practicality, structure, and potential impact of such a levy before any final decisions are made. "The proposed levy aims to establish a dedicated, ring-fenced funding mechanism to support the marketing of Durban as a tourism destination of choice both locally and internationally, and to drive tourism-related innovations and initiatives. "The ultimate goal is to reduce reliance on municipal funding and improve long-term financial sustainability within the tourism sector," read a statement issued by the municipality. Durban Tourism has been tasked to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including the national Department of Tourism, South African Tourism, local tourism boards, industry associations, community organisations and the private sector. Following this it is expected to present its findings and recommendations to the committee. Brett Tungay, chairperson of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA) for the east coast, said they were opposed to the idea. He said most hotels were already paying a 1% Tourism Marketing SA (TOMSA) levy, for travel services in South Africa. "We will definitely not allow this to happen. The City has not engaged with the private sector in a meaningful discord yet regarding this. KwaZulu-Natal as a tourism destination is yet to recover to post Covid levels. We are still 20% down on pre-Covid levels. The foreign numbers into the province is still about 80% down. It is not as if we are in a flourishing tourism environment that has excess profit that we can throw at the city," he said. Tungay said any new levy would have to be borne by the properties. "It will affect the bottom line of all the hotels and resorts in Durban. In an environment where we are trying to grow and trying to encourage employment this is not what we need. "I would rather see the City improve on its water billing and rates collections," said Tungay. He said cities around the world that charge a tourism levy have functioning municipalities. "The City needs to look at how they can tighten the belt first and get everything running properly. They must realise that tourism marketing benefits the entire city," he said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council, also cited the TOMSA levy, adding that imposing another levy would be unfair on the sector. "There is no other sector that has a levy, so it will be unfair to impose a levy on tourism when you don't impose a levy on anybody else who operates in any different way within the municipality. "We all pay rates and taxes and other dues, why introduce something that is targeted to one sector and not targeted to others? Why impose something to say it's the basis for destination marketing?" questioned Tshivhengwa. He said there were many municipalities with functioning tourism bodies. "What the municipality needs to do is fund destination marketing and make sure they realise the benefits. If they fund it, the return on investment is far greater. "There are many other models out there that are very successful. Cape Town Tourism has a different model where it's not necessarily funded directly through the municipality," he said. Tshivhengwa said the municipality needed to fix its infrastructure to attract tourists. "Fix the beaches and make sure there is no sewage going into the beaches and ensure it's a safe place. There will then be more economic activity and those in the tourism sector will derive benefits and be able to create employment. But to say you are going to impose a statutory levy and not do it for any other industry, is unfair. "Durban has not been getting the lion's share of tourists and the problem is infrastructure. You can go and market all you want, but if the beaches and water is not clean and we don't deal with issues of safety and security, no one is going to go there," he said. SUNDAY TRIBUNE
eNCA
2 days ago
- eNCA
SA lawyer forces US tech giant to name site users
JOHANNESBURG - In a story similar to the Biblical David and Goliath, a South African lawyer and owner of the Digital Law Company has forced a US tech giant to disclose information about explicit content. The lawyer, Emma Sadlier, made WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram owner Meta Platforms disclose the information of users posting explicit content of South African schoolchildren. The Digital Law Company discovered over 1,000 explicit posts of children, including videos and photos, published by 30 Meta accounts in just a few days.
The South African
2 days ago
- The South African
Orlando Pirates news: Commercial win and transfer setback
Orlando Pirates' emphatic offseason just got better. Suzuki, the Japanese car manufacturer, has officially partnered with the Soweto giants as their new vehicle sponsor. 'A new chapter starts here,' Suzuki announced. 'From the streets to the stadium, we move as one.' This agreement strengthens Pirates' already formidable sponsor portfolio, which includes big names like Adidas, Aquelle, Vodacom and Carling Black Label. While the Suzuki announcement is a commercial boost, one of Pirates' long-standing targets, Fawaaz Basadien, appears set for a move to Mamelodi Sundowns. After missing training yesterday, speculation has intensified around his potential exit. In addition, concerns continue around the future of one of the club's brightest young prospects, Relebohile Mofokeng. With several foreign clubs circling, his father, Sechaba, has made no secret of his desire to see him leave the local league for Europe. 'I know God will answer my prayers,' he said. 'Take him to Barcelona? He can play. PSG? He can play. Any country — but not Saudi Arabia. Not yet.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
