Tshwane metro to start billing Hammanskraal residents after they receive clean water again

JOHANNESBURG - With clean, drinking tap water returning to Hammanskraal, the Tshwane Municipality has told residents it will start billing them for it. 

After 20 years of undrinkable water, the Pretoria North town finally received clean water on Wednesday. 

Last year, the Tshwane council wrote off more than R600 million in water debt owed by Hammanskraal residents. 

The municipality said it was unfair to expect Hammanskraal residents to pay for unsafe water. 

Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya said now that the water was safe, the municipality needed to make revenue from it. 

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"The project of (installing prepaid) water meters that will enable us to bill the residents, that project is going to be complete in the area. We have the budget, we have the material and the plan but it’s important for residents to understand this is not a free service. Everyone must pay for services in the city."

Moya has urged Hammanskraal residents who cannot afford to pay for the water to register for its indigent policy programme.

"Not all residents can afford our services hence we have the indigent programme where the residents must be registered. We did a lot of work in the months of October, November and December where we told residents how to fix their bill and register as an indigent," she said.