5% admin charge for water

(Originally posted by Leaticia)*

I would like to know from Onverwacht residents if anyone is aware that we are charged a 5% admin charge on water. If some of you have knowledge of this, can you please enlighten me on when or where this was discussed and voted on? I have asked this question to Mr Giliomee who told me that it was discussed and agreed upon with the Annual Year Meeting in 2007, but nobody I spoke to knows of this and it is not in the minutes of the meeting.

*(I took the liberty to copy Leaticia's message here as it is appropriate to this category - Admin)

Hi Leaticia

It is once again an example of the absence of professionalism in the way in which affairs have been conducted at Onverwacht.

Besides the fact that the supporting documentation (i.e., minutes of said meeting) seems not to be forthcoming, there is another issue at stake here: why was it necessary in the first place to introduce a levy on water? Why should we pay more for water than the municipal rate? If the cost of administration is offered as an excuse (and I can think of no other reason or excuse), then it is a poor excuse indeed.

My arguments against this, are the following:

1. Mr. Giliomee is paid to take care of administrative tasks, and whether we collectively use 1 megalitres of water or 1 gigalitres, the amount of work that he has to do in this regard is exactly the same. Yet, as we use more water, we pay more in the form of the water levy. For what?

2. It can be argued that the staff who read the water meters are overworked, and that their wages are not commensurate with their duties. Be this as it may, that is what the standard levy is for: to cover items such as wage increases. Again, and I repeat, whether we collectively use 1 megalitres of water or 1 gigalitres, the number of water meters to be read remains exactly the same, hence no extra work. Yet we pay more.

3. I'm not sure of the cut-off point, but as far as I know we don't pay for water when our individual consumption falls below a certain level. Now where is the logic in this? Mr. Giliomee still has to administrate the accounts, and the staff still have to read the meters. In this case, we don't pay any water levy! Ridiculous, isn't it?

Think about this. Clearly, those who introduced the water levy, didn't...

Chris

I absolutely agree with you on this Chris. I just wonder when the Administrators will reply to this post. And seeing as the minutes are nowhere to be found, I suggest the levy is scrapped and refunded. As much as I love living in Onverwacht, issues such as these make it extremely unpleasant and it will make me very hesitant to buy in a complex again.

Blommie

Yes, Blommie, it is indeed a pity that this is what Onverwacht has become. I have been at Onverwacht for about seven years, and it is no longer the place I knew back then. Even people who have been here longer, and who have been very happy, now say that they would move away tomorrow if they could.

The fact is, there are many people at Onverwacht who are unhappy with the way in which the administration is being managed, and this cannot merely be dismissed as "some people will always complain". No, there is a problem and the sooner we get an all-new-member committee, the sooner we can all contribute toward restoring the pleasant ambiance at Onverwacht.

I doubt whether we will get any response from the committee on these issues, unless one of the new members has the guts to speak out.

Chris

Hi All

I do not think the water levy is either fair or justified. I am not prepared to pay for this and as such will be paying my monthly levy less the water levy until there is an answer from the committee.

Tasha