The issue of pensioner’s rebates has been ongoing since the beginning of the year with pensioners citing that they are fed up with the low level of service delivery they receive, while the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) still collects unreasonable amounts of revenue.
According to the CoJ’s rebate policy, pensioners aged 70, irrespective of income who own and who reside in a property not more than R2 500 000 should qualify for a 100% rebate, pensioners on a National Security Grant qualify for a 100% rebate and these rebates are valid until the next property valuations.
These rebate rates apply only to properties used as places of primary residence. Property owners must be 60 years of age and older, in the case of dual ownership, at least one of the owners must be 60 years or older. Pensioners must own the property and personally occupy the property.
While all looks good in theory, pensioners are still receiving monthly bills for amounts which they are unable to pay and cited that they applied for rebates as they are unable to afford the account. One such pensioner is Victor Malose (71), who said that he has been sent from pillar to post after having arranged to pay a certain amount each month as he was unable the total.
He was sent to Thuso House Head Office where he said that he had signed a new agreement for September and was promised it to be in effect from October, however when he went to pay, it was not in effect yet and was told the problem is on CoJ’s admin side which seemingly has not been updated yet.
“I am having sleepless nights about my utility bill. My problem started in July when I failed to renew the instalment plan. I was out of the province for some weeks attending to my wheelchair-bound mother,” Malose said.
He cited that he was told that everything would reflect on his next statement, which was end of September. Unfortunately, only the instalment plan was activated.
“The total amount for September month was R3 126.65, I went back to ask for clarity and was told that they are aware of the problem which was caused by the server and the account will be rectified,” Malose said. He also cited that he had to borrow money to make ends meet.
Another pensioner Pavol Namer said that until November of 2022, he did not pay anything, however, he was informed that he must reapply, which he did. He said that his property dropped during evaluation and the City has his details on the system but was also sent from pillar to post.
“I tried calling, no answer – went to the civic centre and what I got is that they are busy with it, and they have a lot to do and all I got is a reference number. It has been four months and they are now taking the full money for us for the taxation of the property,” Namer said.
“This is nothing but terrorising us old people – we have built this country, and this is what we get from those who don’t work. But the fact is that they are taking their time and they simply do not care,” Namer said.
Ward 71 councillor René Benjamin said that she has also been receiving complaints but is unable to assist as it is the City’s problem.
CoJ said that they’ve seen a significant increase in pensioner’s rebate applications this year, with 39 078 applicants applying for them on their properties as of November 9. The City has granted the rebates to 15 448 successful applicants and is working tirelessly to finalise all applications. The City advises pensioners to be patient as they continue paying for municipal services until their applications are successful and granted. Unprocessed pensioner rebate applications are flagged for no credit control actions.
