“She’s Been Through Hell”: Johannesburg Mom Wins 2-Year Battle Over R2.9m Water Bill, SA Stunned

• Jenny Liebetraut spent over two years fighting an erroneous R2.9 million water bill issued by the City of Johannesburg
• The Sandton ratepayer consulted around 60 city officials who repeatedly blamed an internal leak for the shocking charge
• The Public Protector stepped in after years of frustration, and the city was forced to act on the complaint

A Johannesburg ratepayer endured more than two years of battles with the municipality after receiving a water bill of R2.9 million — a charge that turned out to be completely wrong.

Jenny Liebetraut, a Sandton resident, was issued the staggering bill by the City of Johannesburg. Rather than accept it, she pushed back. Over the course of her fight, she consulted with about 60 city officials. Each time, representatives from the municipality held firm, insisting the massive amount was the result of an internal leak on her property.

Liebetraut refused to let the matter rest.

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Public Protector Forces a Resolution

After getting nowhere with the city for over two years, Liebetraut took the matter to the Public Protector. The intervention proved decisive. The Public Protector confirmed that a faulty water meter, not any leak on her property, had caused the inflated readings. Faced with that finding, the City of Johannesburg credited the full R2.9 million back to her account.

As reported by eNCA on X, Liebetraut looked visibly worn down by the ordeal, having carried the weight of the dispute for years while the city dragged its feet.

Watch the eNCA report on Jenny's two-year battle with the City of Johannesburg in the X video below:

Mzansi reacts to Jenny's municipal drama

South Africans on social media were outraged that it took this long to fix what was ultimately a municipal error:

@GloriaM7506 wrote:

"Good. This is what they are good at. They are quick to disconnect, but when customers need help, they are nowhere to be found. I've been sitting here without electricity since yesterday, even though we logged a call. That's when I realise that our government is useless."

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@Radebe_SE asked:

"It took two years to figure that out?"

@PaddyBush said:

"I hope @helenzille is going to make a video about this highlighting just how utterly crooked, incompetent and delinquent @JHBWater are."

@quello15 added:

"This lady should sue; she looks so traumatised, she has been through hell."

@pete_buttons shared:

"I had the same nonsense, although not at such stratospheric levels of cost. FYI, they just don't care until you start threatening them with lawyers."

@SiphoInAction said:

"This is so sad that South Africans have to deal with things like this."

3 Other municipality-related articles

• A viral video of a former eThekwini Municipality worker describing her heartbreaking reality of living under a plastic tarp on a public lawn after losing her job moved South Africans online.
• A report revealing that homeowners now pay up to 550% more on monthly municipal bills than they did 20 years ago has sparked widespread outrage online as citizens grapple with the soaring cost of living.
• Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana revealed that National Treasury has frozen R13.5 billion in allocations to 69 municipalities after local councils deducted R1.7 billion in worker pension contributions without transferring the funds.

Source: Briefly News