The taps are dry, but residents billed for water

Their taps are dry and their flush toilets have no running water, but the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is demanding that two Missionvale residents pay their water bills or face the possibility of having their electricity meters blocked.

Nonkqubo Gcezengana and Anne Moses claim that for, the past five months, they have been bombarded with municipal bills demanding that they pay for the use of water – which has never been connected inside or outside their RDP houses.

The pair, who live a street apart in Jack Street and Boesak Ground respectively, said they had not had water connected since they moved into their houses four years ago, and that they had to walk to the nearest communal tap to get water.

Gcezengana, 45, said she started getting letters in November threatening to cut off her electricity should she fail to pay a R1 000 water bill.