Court orders City to restore woman’s water supply
High Court Judge Orben Sibeya last Friday ordered the City of Windhoek to restore the water supply to Annalize Calabrese's Klein Windhoek home immediately. According to the court order, the City must also pay Calabrese's legal fees.
This after a sudden and dramatic increase in Calabrese’s water bill, which - according to her affidavit - shot up by more than N$1 million between March and April this year.
Calabrese said she woke up on 29 April to dry taps. "I turned on [several] taps in the house and found they didn't have water. I went to the main stop valve, which controls the water supply to the property, but could not find anything faulty or broken. I approached [the City] to find out the cause of the supply interruption. Upon enquiry, I was referred to the accounts department and provided with an [overdue] account,” she said in court papers.
Calabrese said she questioned the amount due, but still made a partial payment towards the debt. It was only afterwards that she received another statement from the municipality, on which the million-dollar additional debt was indicated.
"On further inquiry about this excessive amount, the only response from [the municipality] was that they are investigating the issue. After many unsuccessful attempts to clarify the dispute and have my water supply restored, I called my lawyer.”
Investigation
The City’s spokesperson Lydia Amutenya confirmed that the municipality will obey the court order. "However, we will continue with the investigation and the results of the investigation will inform the way forward on this matter," she added.
The municipality cuts supply to about 245 accounts daily, but between 70% and 80% of these accounts' supply is also restored daily, including accounts for which supply was cut off a month or two ago, or at any time in the past, Amutenya explained.
Altogether, the total debt owed to the municipality stood at about N$1.1 billion by 3 June, she said.
“We recognise and understand the frustrations within the community regarding suspensions. The City of Windhoek is committed to treating all customers fairly and consistently within established guidelines.”
This after a sudden and dramatic increase in Calabrese’s water bill, which - according to her affidavit - shot up by more than N$1 million between March and April this year.
Calabrese said she woke up on 29 April to dry taps. "I turned on [several] taps in the house and found they didn't have water. I went to the main stop valve, which controls the water supply to the property, but could not find anything faulty or broken. I approached [the City] to find out the cause of the supply interruption. Upon enquiry, I was referred to the accounts department and provided with an [overdue] account,” she said in court papers.
Calabrese said she questioned the amount due, but still made a partial payment towards the debt. It was only afterwards that she received another statement from the municipality, on which the million-dollar additional debt was indicated.
"On further inquiry about this excessive amount, the only response from [the municipality] was that they are investigating the issue. After many unsuccessful attempts to clarify the dispute and have my water supply restored, I called my lawyer.”
Investigation
The City’s spokesperson Lydia Amutenya confirmed that the municipality will obey the court order. "However, we will continue with the investigation and the results of the investigation will inform the way forward on this matter," she added.
The municipality cuts supply to about 245 accounts daily, but between 70% and 80% of these accounts' supply is also restored daily, including accounts for which supply was cut off a month or two ago, or at any time in the past, Amutenya explained.
Altogether, the total debt owed to the municipality stood at about N$1.1 billion by 3 June, she said.
“We recognise and understand the frustrations within the community regarding suspensions. The City of Windhoek is committed to treating all customers fairly and consistently within established guidelines.”
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