City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan - Massive bill every december 2022

I received a bill for R10k for water and 3k for sewerage in November 2022. When I queried this account i was informed that the city did not have people to do accurate readings for 3 months and this was done in November 2022. The readings I was paying in the last 3 months were estimates. I am beyond angered at this reply. Whose responsibility is it to ensure sufficient staff is employed? As the payer I’m getting the short end of the stick and this happens every year. The team at the rates office is beyond incompetent and cannot assist.