Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
15 July 2025 | 14:53 CAT
3-minute read

📷 Dilapidated social housing block in KwaZulu-Natal, where residents face unfair water backbilling amid squalid living conditions. Photo credit: Facebook

A growing outcry over unjust backbilling in KwaZulu-Natal’s social housing sector has prompted urgent calls for intervention, as residents face crippling water charges due to municipal oversight.

Speaking to Radio Islam International, Councillor Dr Jonathan Annipen exposed a systemic failure by the eThekwini Municipality that has resulted in low-income tenants being saddled with astronomical water bills despite qualifying for free water under existing policies.

“It’s deeply unfair,” said Dr Annipen. “The municipality continued to provide six kilolitres of free water to residents whose property values had surpassed the R250 000 threshold due to routine revaluation but failed to update their system accordingly. Now they’re demanding repayment for their own administrative error.”

One tenant was slapped with a staggering R362 000 bill, a figure Dr Annipen and his team were able to get written off. But he warns that addressing such cases individually is no longer viable: “We cannot continue with a piecemeal approach when thousands of social housing tenants are affected.”

The root of the issue lies in the intersection of outdated data and unclear ownership responsibility. Social housing units are technically owned by the provincial Department of Human Settlements and developed through grants from the municipality. Yet residents, most of whom are low-income earners, are being treated as direct account holders, contrary to billing policy.

“Municipal policy states that unless a tenant has a separate account, they shouldn’t be billed,” Dr Annipen explained. “But even then, billing based on property ownership in a social housing scheme is legally and morally problematic.”

He argues that the very nature of social housing implies the properties’ values remain below the current R350 000 threshold, thus making tenants eligible for free water allowances.

To prevent further injustice, Dr Annipen has called for an immediate moratorium on all water billing to social housing tenants, pending a thorough review of municipal practices. “We must act collectively to resolve this. These residents should not suffer because of a failure in governance,” he stated.

As pressure mounts, the eThekwini Municipality now faces public scrutiny and demands for policy reform to protect the rights and dignity of its most vulnerable residents.

Listen to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat and Councillor Dr Jonathan Annipen.