By Dideka Njemla
Yesterday Ward 4 community members were invited once again for another smart water meter briefing at Crown Hall in Scotts Farm. During the previous community meeting about the installation of smart water meters, residents of Ward 4 expressed their opposition to the installation of the new prepaid water devices in their area. On Tuesday, Ward 4 locals met with their ward councillor, Geoff Embling, Makana officials and Sakh’ikhaya representatives to discuss multiple topics relating to the smart water devices. The absence of power at the Crown Hall led to the meeting being held outside rather than inside.
Makana’s Engineering and Infrastructural Service Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Rumsell Xonxa, chaired the meeting in the absence of the Speaker of the Council, Mabhuti Matyumza. Xonxa said, “There is only one item in our agenda for this meeting, and that is the installation of smart water meters. We have officials from the office of the speaker and other officials who will be able to respond to all your concerns.” Ward 4 councillor, Geoff Embling, conducted the welcoming formalities before Xonxa called on the service provider for an update on the status of smart water meters in the area.
Dysfunctional infrastructure
One of the attendees, Maasdorp Cannon, interjected, “My questions are directed towards the municipality and not the service provider because we have municipal service delivery issues. The issue is service delivery because the smart meter is not going to guarantee an end to water outages. It won’t guarantee functional infrastructure, because water relies on infrastructure, and that is our issue. I think the smart water meter is there to control us and punish us, while we are already punished. So we need the municipality to start right at the beginning and focus on infrastructure. Your primary concern should be finding solutions on how this dysfunctional infrastructure – water – is impacting the community.”
Cannon emphasised Makana’s lack of engagement with the public before the devices were installed. “There might be benefits for the municipality because it can control our usage and payments, but that is contrary to what the municipality is there for. The municipality must deliver services first, and currently, in Makana, service delivery is non-existent.”
“Three weeks ago, we were promised that this consultation would happen inside the hall decently. This consultation is an indication of the treatment we are getting. Our meeting outside is not dignified. My concern is that we are delinking issues,” said Cannon.
Reiterating the agenda
Before calling on the Sakh’ikhaya representatives, Xonxa expressed his disapproval of Makana’s Infrastructure Committee officials who arrived 35 minutes late. “We cannot condone that because it’s not right. It’s disrespectful.” He continued chairing the meeting, noting the agenda focused solely on smart water devices and not service delivery. “The notice spoke about one item, hence I’m going to hand over now to the representatives of the service provider so they can update us on the status of the smart water meters,” he said.
Fix our infrastructure
As the Sakh’ikhaya representative prepared to speak, another resident, Vincet Jeggels, interrupted. “We don’t have a problem with the smart water meters; the problem is we don’t want them unless the municipality attends to our damaged infrastructure. They can present their devices, but we are still against these devices in our community,” he said. Following that, Jeggels handed Embling a petition on behalf of the Ward 4 community. “All of us signed this, and we want to hand it over tonight. If the municipality is committed to change, then you will attend to our demands and restore our infrastructure. Until then, we are not willing to accept these meters in our ward.”
Xonxa steered the meeting back to the discussion of the meters, saying, “The contractors must give you information and update you on the status of the smart water meters. This project was presented to both wards 4 and 8. I don’t want us to act as though the communities were uninformed.”
Before Xonxa could finish his statement, the community began to disagree with him in frustration. “We don’t want howlers in this meeting. This presentation was done by the service provider, and we have records that the consultation was done. We as a municipality can’t be that irresponsible that we would implement a project without public consultation. The contractor is here to give us an update on their process this evening, “ said Xonxa. “You have given the ward councillor your petition, and he will attend to it. Now let’s allow Sakh’ikhaya to present their status and take questions after.”
Project facilitation updates
Siyabulela Kibito from MBSA (a consulting engineering firm working with Sakh’ikhaya) explained that the phase 2 rollout of smart water meters has taken place since the beginning of July. He spoke about resistance from the community in Ward 8 but said 1 540 units have been successfully installed. “The challenge we are experiencing now is the vandalising and theft of these devices.”
The grievances of Ward 4 citizens
Xonxa opened the floor for questions, issuing a numbering system to maintain order. The first 10 residents posed various questions about dysfunctional infrastructure, shifting the focus away again from smart water meters. Nelville Kettledas said, “Why install a smart water meter when we barely have water in our properties. What is it that the municipality is trying to implement in a community that is still suffering?”
Martin Davies commented on how the municipalities failed to implement a consultation process for this project. “Because we weren’t consulted, I don’t trust the process, nor do I trust these meters.” Davies asked how many other companies tendered for the project. Several other residents voiced concerns about these devices and their functions. The confusion surrounding these meters is centred on the municipality’s lack of transparency, the billing system, the functionality of these devices and the water supply.
“These smart water meters are not our primary concern. We are willing to work with the contractors, but is the municipality willing to work with us by fixing the infrastructure? If our infrastructure is not sorted out, then we can’t accept these meters,” said Jeggels. Harry Porthern asked a question about fund allocations. “We know that there’s a great sum of money being put into this project. You’ve got so many millions to put in smart water meters around this area, but what about supplying water to our residents?”
“Geographically, this town has 13 wards. How did it come about that two wards were identified for the implementation of these devices? What is the intention of this project if it excludes 11 other wards? Shouldn’t we be suspicious because it is pointless to pose questions right now, because that should’ve been done before the rollout? asked Cannon. “Based on what the service provider just said, it is clear that risks were not part of the policy because now they are mentioning vandalism. Can we have access to the policy of consultation, and where is it?”
An unexpected ending
The residents continued to demand clarification on this matter. Cedric Visagie said, “We’ve had enough where things are just pressed upon us and we just accept them. I want to emphasise that this one was not communicated, and whoever was responsible failed. We were not informed, none of us would be ignorant towards something that would cost us. There was no community engagement done. Why would we agree to these meters if the clean water is running through our streets and not our homes?”
Visagie said the municipality has made it a culture to ask residents to raise their queries and not attend to any of them. “When we pose questions, we never get answers. Instead of addressing them, they will invite us to another meeting and discuss a different matter.”
Committee officials present were ready to address the concerns raised by locals. Makana’s Water and Sanitation Manager, Chris Qwane, attended to the first questions that were asked. “We send people to go read the meters, and that’s how we bill you. In this situation, it is unclear if we are given correct readings or not.” He further stated that the municipality saw the installation of prepaid devices as a solution. “The smart water meters allow you to get what you paid for, and that’s the first advantage of this meter.”
There was loud disagreement with Qwane. Community members began to shout over Qwane’s responses to express their dissatisfaction. Things became very heated as residents rose to leave the Crown Hall premises. Some stayed behind shouting and demanding that the municipality fix the issues of this town.
This article has been updated to reflect the names of the speakers from the community in the meeting correctly.
