Shirley Woolgar had to cancel her annual Easter tradition of making pickled fish for Easter. This is because the City of Cape Town cut her power due to an outstanding water bill.

A city council technician arrived at her home in Manenberg on Wednesday and disconnected her electricity supply‚ just a day after the 73-year-old pensioner borrowed R900 to pay a plumber to repair the leak that was driving up her water bill.

 In February Woolgar was hit with a R41‚000 water bill‚ and was identified as one of the city’s highest water users but could not afford to repair the leak.

She said that last week the council told her to fix the leak herself because it was on private property. She survives solely on a state pension of R1‚500 per month.

 But last month the mayoral committee member for Area Central Siyabulela Mamkeli‚ told Times Media that that a Water Management Device‚ which is able to dispense only a predetermined amount of water every day‚ would be installed at her home.

“The contractor will also inspect the property for leaks (excluding the geyser). All leaks inside and outside the property will be fixed by the contractor at no cost to the consumer‚” he said.

 But Woolgar confirmed that this never happened.

“I am so stressed and upset‚” the devout Christian said. “Last night my house was dead and cold. I can’t even go anywhere because I don’t have money.”

“I asked the man ‘why don’t you cut the water?’‚ but he said ‘no’ because he had orders to cut the lights.

 “Every year I have pickled fish but this year I won’t have any.”

On Thursday Woolgar and other residents marched to the city council offices in Manenberg to demand answers as to why she was cut off.

City councilor for water and waste services Xanthea Limberg‚ said that they were not aware that Woolgar’s electrcity supply had been terminated but that the issue would be investigated.

“I would have to look at the history of the account and whether there was a payment arrangement among others‚ to ascertain why this has happened‚” Limberg said.