Pietermaritzburg school calls for municipality to reconnect power, water

Residents of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal are calling for the uMsunduzi Municipality to urgently reconnect Raisethorpe Secondary School, as the matric trial examination is under way.

The school is among many government buildings that have had their power and water disconnected as part of a massive drive by the city to recoup billions owed to it by non-paying rates customers.

Other departments include Home Affairs offices and a police station.

The principal of the school took to social media this week, saying that the school maintained the electricity bill however the arrears of over R2 million is for rates and is owed by the Department of Public Works, which owns the building.

Sherwin Naidu who is one of the concerned residents says, “I came across a post where they had disconnected the electricity and shut off water at Raisethorpe High School and that’s in the middle of the examination process. We then decided to get more information and I made contact with the principal and we found that he paid whatever was meant to be paid from his side but the rates had been accumulating and the responsibility of the rates is the department of public works. Remember the kids that are writing matric, are the future and if we don’t do anything to assist them, then they are going to have problems later on.”

Concerned PMB residents urge the local municipality to reconnect lights and water at the Raisethorpe Secondary