MMC for Finance calls for those who can afford to pay up
Service delivery is much better when residents pay their bills.
The MMC for Finance in the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, says there’s no excuse for communities who can afford to pay for municipal services not to do so.
He has also called for greater protection of vulnerable communities.
Morero is on the drive across the city, engaging with communities and stakeholders. He has called on residents who can afford to pay to do the right thing and pay up for services they have consumed. He said the city seeks greater collaborations with communities to find lasting solutions.
He pleaded with communities to prioritise their municipal accounts, the same way they prioritise luxuries such as pay TV and retail shop accounts.
“If the municipality doesn’t get the money from ratepayers, we can’t do all the service delivery things that more and more of our communities are calling for. Residents must find a healthy balance between paying for their municipal accounts and DStv accounts,” said Morero.
He warned that the city’s coffers were fast drying up due to the culture of non-payment. According to Morero, about 65% of its annual budget comes from revenue from ratepayers.
The city is expected to be self-funding, and raise revenue from these three key sources of services: electricity and water supplies, and the property taxes known as rates.
The money raised not only pays for basic services such as roads, refuse collection, traffic control, sewers, lights and water, but also for an expanded community police service, housing for the poor, and refurbished bus service.
Municipalities generate or receive income from a variety of sources including grants and subsidies from the national government, loans, fines and penalties that the municipalities issue.
“Residents must continue to pay their municipal accounts on time and in full to ensure that they have electricity, clean and sufficient water, their waste is collected regularly, and have better roads to drive on,” said Morero.
Addressing another community, this time around in Ennerdale, south of Johannesburg, in Region G on May 20, Morero refuted claims that the whole of Ennerdale was unable to pay for municipal services.
Morero told Ennerdale community that he has also pleaded with the middle-class group in Soweto to pay for the municipal services because they can afford it.
“It’s not true that everyone here in Ennerdale cannot pay. You pay for services according to the level of your consumption. If you consume too much electricity and water, you will pay according to your consumption,” said Morero.
Morero committed that the Group Finance Department, which is under his watch, will roll out a three-month programme in Ennerdale to help resolve billing queries in the area. During this period, residents won’t be negatively affected by the City’s Credit Control action until their billing issues are solved.
“We are going to have a programme in place with you as residents, where we will announce the dates. We will come to you to address all affected account holders until we have resolved the problems,” said Morero.
He called on all indigent residents to come forward with evidence, which shows that indeed they are unemployed and cannot afford to pay for services so that they can qualify to access various rebates and basket other social services in a form of an expanded social package.
Pensioners (aged 60 and above) whose property value does not exceed R2 500 000 qualify for rebates on their rates, sewer and refuse of between 70 and 100%. It is the responsibility of individual citizens to visit municipal offices to apply for the rebate.
“We’ll give you 6kl of free water. We will also give you 50kw of electricity. No one can take this away from you. But you also have a responsibility to manage both your electricity and water consumption,” said Morero.
He said the city was losing 30% of the water through, among others, water wastage in communities, vandalism of infrastructure, leaks and burst pipes. This would require stronger partnerships with communities and stakeholders to resolve.
Customers who suddenly find themselves unable to pay their monthly municipal bills are encouraged to sign an acknowledgement of debt and agree on a payment arrangement plan, where they would be able to pay a determined amount that they can afford.
