NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                    4 July 2002

SPECTACULAR RESULTS FLOW FROM CITY'S FLOW ENABLER PILOT PROJECT

84% of debtors make arrangements or payment

Cape Town Councillor David Erleigh, the City's Executive Committee member responsible for Trading Services announced, "It works! Approximately 100 defaulters in the Cape Town administration area have been involved in a two-month pilot project in which the City tested flow enablers that limit the daily flow of water to yield 6kl over a period of 30 days.

 “One of the most encouraging aspects of this pilot project was that we had none of the social disruptions we have experienced in the past.  This is debt management with a caring and human touch.   

“To date only 6 per cent of the flow enabler units have been tampered with – which means that a remarkable 84 per cent of debtors have either made arrangements or payments or have had their services fully reinstated during this period.  

“We attribute the positive response from the community to the City’s commitment to ensuring that all our people have access to basic water.  Families are grateful that they have not been totally cut-off,” he added.  

Cllr Erleigh said he would be recommending to the City of Cape Town’s Executive Committee at the end of July that this cost effective pilot project be expanded across 30 of the City’s poorest areas.   

“Initial concerns regarding health risks during this pilot project failed to materialise which is another plus for the flow enabler project,” said Cllr Erleigh.