Residents should not be surprised when slapped with a bill for services rendered by the City of Joburg’s EMS (JEMS).
“The tariffs that Emergency Management Services charge form part of the City’s tariffs that are published on an annual basis which include fire, rescue and ambulance services,” said Joburg’s EMS spokesperson Nana Radebe.
Services were rendered first and billing was issued thereafter; however, EMS would not refuse to render services because a person did not have money, Radebe said.
Residents were billed according to the service rendered and resources used at the scene such as litres of water.
However, Radebe said the amounts charged for essential services were minimal and did not take into account all the resources used.
“Services are rendered up-front. Where a person receives a bill and cannot afford to pay it, they must approach council and provide the necessary proof that they cannot afford to pay,” Radebe said.
If the person was registered on the indigent register they would not pay.
Councillor Michael Sun and DA Shadow MMC for Public Safety confirmed that in terms of section 97(1) of the Emergency Services bylaw, residents were required to pay for services provided to them by EMS.
The charges ranged from personnel charges at a rate of R250 per person per hour, to R227 and R579 for the call out of a service vehicle and fire appliance or specialist vehicle respectively per hour or part thereof.
Among other costs, charges for the cost of all material used, including a 10 percent administration fee, were applicable.
However, Sun said that the city council allocated certain amounts to its various departments and municipal-owned entities from the rates collected from residents, adding that Joburg EMS was one of the departments that received a budget allocation.
“Whilst we do no promote that residents should refuse to pay… as land or property owning residents or occupants, rates and taxes are paid to the city,” Sun said.
“In other words, the residents already pay for the expenses of JEMS, therefore the residents should not be accounted for such emergency services, be it fire trucks or ambulances.”
However, Sun explained that if fires were caused intentionally or through negligence, the person at fault should be held both criminally and financially liable.
Last year, Joburg EMS’s capital budget was originally R70 million and later boosted to R145 million, while this year’s was R103 million.
In comparison, the mayor’s office capital budget this year was R113 million.
