The Democratic Alliance has accused the City of Joburg (CoJ) of putting “unnecessary financial pressure on residents with its operational budget”.
The party’s caucus leader in the CoJ, Clr Vasco Da Gama, was responding to the budget speech recently tabled by the CoJ’s MMC for Finance, Clr Geoffrey Makhubo.
Clr Da Gama said his party supported the capital expenditure in the budget.
“The consumer cannot be punished for the harm done to Eskom’s infrastructure over the past decade.
“The upgrade of power stations and general maintenance is the responsibility of the government. Basic service delivery throughout the city is dismally lacking. Now residents are going to have to pay more, regardless of the lack of basic services,” he said.
He also objected to the tariff increases and said these are above inflation.
“Residents are already feeling the pinch on different increases, including petrol, electricity, water and sanitation. All these increases combined are an absurdity. What about the ordinary working person who does not receive a salary increase above the inflation rate?” he asked.
