adminThe tariff will be charged to all businesses in the city.
It is an amendment of the Trade Effluent Tariff (TET) that used to be levied on companies that discharged toxic, corrosive and obnoxious sewage as a contribution towards the conveyance and processing of waste.
According to the latest council report, the tariff was amended because some companies were being billed twice for the same service.
“Initially, polluting companies were known and charged TET. However, due to limited manpower, it had become difficult to identify new polluters. A decision had been taken to levy all non-domestic water consumers TETs, that is, a fixed Trade Effluent Charge and a 70 percent of water consumed TET,” read the report.
“When this decision had been taken non-domestic consumers were being charged sewerage fees for processing and conveying their sewer. Thus they ended up with sewerage fees and TETs for the same service. There was a need to correct the anomaly”.
The report shows that council decided at an inter-departmental meeting on 18 July to suspend sewerage fees and charge an all-encompassing WMT to all business entities in the city.
“Commercial consumers shall be liable to pay a monthly fixed WMT 1 for conveying and processing sewage discharge based on the number of water closets on their properties, plus a WMT 3 based on 70 percent of the water consumed to be charged from $0,012 to $0,25 per kilolitre,” read the report.
Also according to the report, commercial consumers would pay a WMT 2 based on the quality of effluent they discharged, as measured by council.
The local authority’s engineering services department was asked to provide the quarterly WMT 2 tariff figures to the billing section.
Places of worship, hospitals, clinics, offices, storage premises, educational institutions and all shops other than butcheries and fast food outlets were exempted from paying the WMTs. Shops with butcheries and fast food outlets were however, not exempted.
Online Reporter