POLOKWANE – Some 9 733 people were approved as registered indigents at the end of July, owing the Polokwane Municipality R36,8 million which is going to be written off, according to a notice placed two weeks ago on the municipality’s Facebook page.
Read more: [JUST IN] Polokwane Municipality cancels indigent bills
The municipality also announced those indigents whose services were cut, need not pay reconnection fees and the services will be reconnected. Pre-paid meters will be installed at these premises. A whopping 2 865 people claiming to be indigents have been disqualified by the municipality for registration by the end of July this year.
Read more: Municipal indigent support programme explained
Of those 2 865 applicants who were disqualified for indigent status, 101 people abandoned the properties, 1 001 earned above the qualifying income of R4 160, applicants that were deceased accounted for 363, altogether 467 applicants did not live on the property they applied for, seven were business properties, three were government employees, 90 applicants refused to provide information to the verifying agent and 833 claiming to be indigents were in fact active directors for a company and did not declare it.
The value of indigents’ houses may also not exceed R1 million in order to be considered which was not the case in may of the applications.
When a person applies to be registered as an indigent, the customer consents to giving the municipality permission to verify information supplied on the affidavit. Such verification is not limited to a physical inspection at the home of the applicant and may include credit checks with credit bureaus, including Companies And Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) checks and employment checks.
Indigents are given rebates of:
• 6 kl free water.
• 100 kWh free electricity.
• 100% rebate on sewerage, refuse and all basic charges.
If a person has been disqualified they are immediately excluded from the indigent programme. The reversal of indigent benefits, where false information was provided and the reversal of benefits where indigent status or circumstances changed and the disqualified customer did not declare it also apply.
In the case of people being dishonest, the municipality can open a criminal case and has the right to stop and reverse benefits received under false pretences.
Last year some 740 people who claimed to be indigents’ benefits were stopped and reversed. Eighty of the so-called indigents were actually government employees, 70 were people awarded tenders or had contracts with government, 300 had credit with private providers, retail and financial services providers that exceeded R3 500 and 290 had more than one property.
All beneficiaries of the indigent subsidy forming part of the above categories have been stopped from receiving any further rebates. The municipality in May announced an investigation into alleged non-qualifying receivers of rebates who received rebates fraudulently.
