During a council meeting on Thursday, February 24 the City of Johannesburg approved a further extension of the Debt Rehabilitation Programme. The extension period is effective from March 1 until June 30.
According to Finance MMC, Councillor Julie Suddaby this programme is in line with priority number four of the ‘Golden Start’ initiative announced by the Mayor, Mpho Phalatse. This intervention is designed to assist financially distressed ratepayers and defaulting customers to bring their arrears municipal accounts up to date.
“Successful applicants will receive a 50% immediate debt write-off. The balance of the debt will be divided into thirds of which one third will be written off each year for three years, which is the duration of the Debt Rehabilitation Programme,” she explained in a recent statement.
“The debt remains written off provided the customer complies with all the conditions of the programme. Residential customers, small businesses, faith-based organisations or places of worship (churches, mosques, synagogues, etc) and non-profit organisations (NGOs) are all eligible to apply.”
For residential customers, the market value of the property and all properties owned by the applicants must not exceed R1,5 million. Businesses, churches and NGOs would have to provide financial statements showing they were not generating revenue of more than R3 million per annum.
To qualify for the 50% immediate write-off, the account-holder’s balance must be in arrears for more than 90 days when the application is submitted. The combined gross income of the account holder, individually or jointly, must be between R4 750 and R22 000 per month.
Where the gross monthly income is more than R22 000, only a percentage of the debt above 90 days shall be written off on condition that the account holder settles the account in full.
The sliding scale to be used is as follows:
• Between R22 000 to R30 000 – 30% write-off of the debt above 90 days shall be offered; all interest and penalty charges shall be reversed.
• Between R30 001 to R40 000 – 20% write-off of the debt above 90 days will be offered; all interest and penalty charges shall be reversed.
• Between R40 0001 to R50 000 – 10% write-off of the debt above 90 days shall be offered; all interest and penalty charges shall be reversed.
• Above R50 001 – all surcharges shall be reversed.
“Once approved, the account must be kept up to date for 12 months from the initial write-off. The City reserves the right to cancel the agreement and reinstate the original debt written off should it be discovered that the account holder provided falsified information and documents to the City.
Region C customers may also visit any of the following City of Joburg Revenue Customer Services Centre offices listed below:
• Roodepoort Civic Centre, 100 Christiaan de Wet Road
• Florida Park Roodepoort City Hall, 62 Berlandina Street
To apply for the programme, customers can send an email to debtrehab@joburg.org.za or visit www.joburg.org.za to access application forms or apply online.
