Water Hour: Water disputes with the City of Cape Town and the role of an Ombudsman with Jason Le Grange

Jason Le Grange had to take the City of Cape Town to their “third party” Ombudsman as they threatened to cut off his water and made him pay R9000 for a faulty meter they had installed. He “won” and they still refused to pay him back the money he had to pay for their error otherwise they were cutting his services off.

"The Ombudsman however, is not real nor functional as they have not been able to get the City of Cape Town to pay me back any money and take responsibility for what has happened. An Ombudsman is supposed to be functional to have require action from the parties involved and hold the parties accountable. This is not the case. I have already contacted a private university who after evaluating the evidence says this is a case study on a faux-Ombudsman that makes the City of Cape Town look like they have a third, objective party, but who don’t see any actions taken by them for unaccountable behavior and practice. "

"The Ombudsman said it is your job to fill in the refund form and wait 6-8 weeks for it. So no parties held accountable."

For more on the case study around the role of an Ombudsman see http://www.failedcityofcapetown.org