March 4, 2004
By Lucky Sindane
MORE than 90 percent of the residents of Phiri, Soweto, support the installation of prepaid water meters, according to Johannesburg Water.
Updating the status of Operation Gcin'amanzi, a multi-million rand operation to upgrade the water supply facilities in Soweto, Johannesburg Water says that 98 percent of Phiri's residents have signed up to install prepaid water meters and have entered into a service delivery agreement with the utility.
Representatives of Johannesburg Water recently showed off the ongoing developments taking place in Phiri - the pilot project for Operation Gcin'amanzi. The upgrade involves replacing leaking pipes and broken taps and the installation of prepaid water meters.
The R450-million project Operation Gcin'amanzi was launched in September last year to improve service delivery and cut down on vast water loss in Soweto - seven billion litres a month - because of an aging infrastructure. The introduction of prepaid meters is to correct problems caused by inaccurate water readings and water billing.
Initially, says Johannesburg Water, the pilot project in Phiri was greeted with scepticism, with public information meetings being disrupted and repair work being vandalised. Workers on the construction sites were threatened and water trucks were prevented from entering the area.
This has now changed. During a recent media briefing Johannesburg Water representatives said, "almost all residents in Phiri have signed up for the installation of the meters and have entered into a service delivery contract with Johannesburg Water". This came about as a result of "ongoing consultation with the residents".
In preparation for the next phase, the installation of the prepaid meters, the City's water and sanitation provider says it will continue to work in close consultation with the people of Phiri. "We are going to embark on a door-to-door campaign so we can get feedback from the residents," said Johannesburg Water's low-income service development manager, Lesego Lebuso.
So far 300 meters have been installed, said Johannesburg Water spokesperson, Jameel Chand. "We installed 300 prepaid meters in the first block of the three bocks currently being upgraded and only four houses didn't want them," he added.
With the new prepaid meters consumers can see for themselves whether there is a water leak on the property and let Johannesburg Water know. The meters will also ensure that all consumers receive their 6 000 litres of free water, after which the water will have to be paid for, said Lebuso.
Consumers will use a programmed tag with their personal details and the water meter information. The tag will only access the prepaid meter on a particular property. As with telephone cards, the water meter tags can be loaded at a vending machine. There are currently three such machines in Phiri. "The prepaid meters empower the consumers, helping them to budget. There are no unexpected costs or a build up of arrears," said manager in charge of prepaid meters, Nico Singh.
"The prepaid meters will benefit consumers and Johannesburg Water," said Chand.
Johannesburg executive mayor, Amos Masondo, thanked the residents of Phiri for their support of the project. "We wish to express our appreciation to the residents of Phiri for their ongoing support, patience and understanding during the process of installation. We are confident that they will soon enjoy the full benefits of this initiative."
Johannesburg Water indicated that a similar installation project in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, had been a huge success. "We have installed about 1 400 prepaid meters in Stretford extension 4, Orange Farm over the past six months and have had only one case of vandalism to date," said Lebuso.
"In Stretford extension 4, our figures show that 75 percent of households consume less than the 6 000 litres of free water per month allocated to them in terms of government policy," said Masondo. "This means these consumers currently receive all their water absolutely free."
A further 24 percent of consumers in Stretford extension 4 paid less than R30 a month for water and sanitation, leaving only two out of every 100 households paying more than R30 a month, the mayor added.
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