The Johannesburg High Court this week reserved judgment in the matter between the owners of the luxury residential Waterfall Country Estate and the City of Johannesburg, which accuses the property owners of illegally connecting water.
Three weeks ago, Sunday World exclusively reported that Waterfall Country Estate was hauling the city to court to challenge the fines for its illegal water connections.
Three estates of Waterfall City, a prime residential area where some of the who’s who of politics, business, and A-list celebrities reside, have been exposed as a hub for illegal water connections that have cost the city millions of rands.
The minted Mia family owns the city in which the R5.7-billion Mall of Africa in Midrand is located.
Three estates of the posh city, where homes fetch between R1.8-million and R30-million, are accused by the municipality of connecting to the bulk water system without the approval of Johannesburg Water.
Instead of disconnecting these properties and laying criminal charges against the culprits, the municipality has imposed fines, but the property owners have taken the city to the Johannesburg High Court to challenge the quantum.
On Wednesday, Waterfall Country Estate’s lawyers argued in their main application that the court should declare the “incorrect” fines imposed by the municipality for illegal water connections unlawful.
Advocate Johan Uys SC, for Waterfall Country Estate, said the notices do not comply with the city’s by-laws and are thus unlawful. Uys said the applicants, Waterfall Country Estate, Waterfall Schools and Waterfall Fields, do not dispute the illegal water connections, but only the charges meted out against them by the city and Joburg Water.
“This matter should never have come to court. The city did not have the authority to do what it did. These disputes over the unlawful levies (fines) could have been resolved without coming to court,” said Uys.
Uys also asked the court to order the municipality to correct the accounts within 30 days of its judgment. Moreover, he asked the court to bar the city and Joburg Water from taking any remedial action in respect of the disputed amounts.
Advocate Vuyo Qithi for the municipality said the applicants were fined because of connecting to the bulk water system without the approval of Joburg Water.
Qithi said Waterfall Country Estate, Waterfall Schools and Waterfall Fields employed private persons to install and connect water meters to the infrastructure of Joburg Water without its approval. He said the municipality uncovered this during a Joburg Water investigation in July 2018.
In its submission, the city said Waterfall Country Estate, which owns the property known as The Sheds, had 72 units connected illegally.
It added Waterfall Schools, which owns the property known as Curro Schools, was in the process of building a school for which Joburg Water has not authorised a water meter.
The municipality added that Waterfall Fields, which owns properties known as The Polofields and Kikuyu, erected units without an authorised water meter. As a result of these illegal water connections, the city slapped Waterfall Country Estate, Waterfall Schools and Waterfall Fields with heavy fines.
In October 2018, the city demanded that Waterfall Country Estate pay over R1-million for water consumption. In May 2018, the municipality also fined Waterfall Schools and Waterfall Fields more than R2-million and R7-million, respectively. However, the applicants said these charges are unlawful because “such charges have been calculated and determined by the municipality with reference to the incorrect tariff”.
Judge Stuart Wilson reserved judgment. Wilson dismissed an application by the city to postpone the matter due to “new additional facts” the municipality said it had. The municipality did not elaborate on what “new additional facts” it wanted to present to the court.
