During last year’s budget speech, then MMC for Finance Dr Rabelani Dagada announced that residents would no longer receive the first six kilolitres of water they use, free of charge.
Only indigent households registered on the Expanded Social Package (ESP) would get free water, up to 15kl a month.
But this has been a concern for both the African National Congress (ANC) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA), who have voiced their disdain at the tabling of the next financial year’s budget on 12 June.
The Patriotic Alliance told council that people don’t understand what the ESP is, citing a lack of education and awareness around the package as the reason for it.
The ANC’s Geoffrey Makhubo argued that giving indigent households free water only through the ESP means large water users are getting the same benefits as the poor. He believes that if there is a flat exemption the poor will benefit more than the rich.
“This is very strange for a pro-poor government,” he said.
At the time when the removal of free water was announced, Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba said it is the trend across the country’s metros to no longer provide free water to all residents, but only to registered indigent residents. The City also said this is in line with the National Water Policy as recommended by the National Treasury.
“Given the scarcity of water in Johannesburg, the huge inequality in our city, and the massive infrastructure and service delivery backlog, we believe it is in the best interest of our residents to follow this national trend,” Mashaba said.
Residents who qualify for the ESP can contact their ward councillor or visit their nearest City centre to find out about registering for the package.
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