‘We were not forcing ourselves on people’: City of Joburg defends debt-check at roadblocks 

The City of Johannesburg has defended collecting unpaid rates and service bills from motorists at roadblocks.

The city council joined the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) at roadblocks over the weekend to collect outstanding municipal debt owed by residents. 

At the roadblocks, residents with overdue municipal bills were made to pay or arrange to settle the outstanding amounts.

READ MORE: JMPD’s debt-check roadblocks under legal scrutiny

Speaking on Newzroom Afrika, the city’s chief financial officer Tebogo Moraka said city officials did not threaten to arrest residents or impound their cars but merely tried to recover the R48 billion owed to the city.

Not forcing

“We did not force ourselves upon people. We gave them the option to say, ‘We are here if you’ve got any queries, are you aware that you owe money, if so, you can pay now or into an AOD [acknowledgment of debt]’. We were not forcing ourselves on people,” he said.

Moraka said about 135 motorists took advantage of the initiative to also update their details on the city’s system. 

“I believe the pilot was successful. It achieved what it needed to achieve, which was engagement with residents and letting them know about the city, letting them know if they were owing, and also updating their details,” he said. 

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Moraka said motorists have the option of not engaging with city officials after being told they owe money.

“We will not impose ourselves but I just want to stress to the residents that you cannot plead ignorance if you owe the city [and] if you know that you are using the services of the city.” 

Creating fear

Mpumelelo Zikalala of Zikalala Attorneys told The Citizen the initiative would create fear among motorists who were not aware of their rights.

“I think they will be able to get those who are not informed about their rights; it’s not everyone that will know that they do not have to pay and that if they do not pay, they will not be arrested,” said Zikalala.

“The fear of getting arrested when you are in the roadblock is usually the only thing on your mind. What they are doing may be a legally compliant tactic but on a moral basis, I don’t think they should be doing this.”