Sir
The Municipal Indigent Policy is intended to guide the national initiative to improve the lives of indigents and to improve access to “free basic services”. The guidelines apply specifically for “free basic services” programmes within municipalities i.e. free basic water, free basic sanitation, free basic energy/electricity and free basic refuse removal.
The term “indigent” means “lacking the necessities of life.” The Constitution provides a guide in this regard, leading to the view that the above goods and services are considered as necessities for an individual to survive. Anyone who does not have access to these goods and services is considered indigent. (National Framework for Municipalities Indigent Policies).
It is notable that this list of goods and services is not intended to represent the full range of requirements that people need to live a full life. However, it remains important for an essential package of goods and services to be identified as a benchmark for determining the condition of being indigent. Municipalities, therefore, have a Constitutional mandate to ensure the provision of basic services to poorer communities. The intention is to ensure that local municipalities target basic municipal services to poor households in an affordable and sustainable manner.
The Municipal Manager and the Accounting Officer shall oversee the appointment of an Indigent Committee in local municipalities that will assess all applications for indigent status and support. Having said that, there are households which are unable to pay for normal municipal services because the level of unemployment and subsequent poverty in the municipal areas. Therefore the district municipality and the local municipalities adopt their Indigent Policy to ensure that these households have access to at least basic municipal services, and are guided in the formulation of their policies by the National Government Policy in this regard. The purpose of the policy is:
1. The provision of basic services to the community in a sustainable manner, within the framework and administrative capacity of the Council.
2. To provide procedures and guidelines for the subsidisation of basic service charges to its indigent households using the Council’s budgetary provisions received from Central Government according to prescribed policy guidelines.
According to the District and Local Municipalities a debtor will be considered as indigent according to their household income. The criteria information on how the municipalities handle their indigent, was extracted from the internet:
UMZINYATHI DISTRICT: Combined household income must be less than R2 500 per month or such amount determined annually during the budget process.
ENDUMENI: Household income R0-R700 full; R701-R1100 : refuse 75%; rates 50%. Electricity 200 klwatts.
NQUTU: Household where the total gross monthly income of the household members over 18 years of age does not exceed R3 500 such other amount as the Council may from time to time determine. Electricity-50 Klwatts per month free of charge.
UMVOTI: There must be combined household income of R2 300.00 per month. Electricity relief not specified.
MSINGA: Not available on the internet. My request and promise to make available the necessary information did not materialise. Having studied the Indigent Policy document on the internet of the various local municipalities within the Umzinyathi District Municipality, it became apparent that the policy is not applied in a uniform manner across local municipalities. This is rightfully acceptable since they determine their own budgets against their financial commitments. However, the provision of water is the competence of the district municipality. Therefore, it is recommended that the Umzinyathi District Municipality should:
1. Develop a water policy;
2. Develop an application form for indigent customers to complete for 6kl free basic water; and
3. Appoint an indigent committee that will assess all applications for indigent status and support.
A random survey has revealed that our indigent customers are not as yet receiving the “6Kl free basic water.”
Dr I Bedassi
Councillor Umzinyathi District Municipality
