The DA, in the metro, says that regular paying customers are the people who have to pay for the metro’s failing credit control.
A scrutiny of the metro’s unaudited annual reports from the 2013/2014 financial year shows that the metro has an almost R3-billion increase in its operating income, despite a falling collection rate.
The metro’s new valuation roll came into effect on July 1, 2013, and it is the increased revenue from service charges, such as water, electricity, sanitation, sewerage and solid waste that allows for the rise in the operational budget.
This is because the revenue collection rate has dropped by almost three per cent which, in real terms, is R750-million lower than the targeted collection rate.
What this means, the DA claims, is that residents who regularly pay their bills are paying more and more to cover the costs of residents who routinely do not pay the metro.
