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The Public Servants Association (PSA) notes with serious concern reports that the City of Johannesburg is considering a 66% increase in water tariffs, whilst residents and workers continue to face electricity and infrastructure challenges.
 
Workers are under immense financial pressure owing to rising food prices, transport costs, fuel prices, school expenses, medical costs, and stagnant salary increases that continue to lag inflation. An excessive increase in water tariffs will place an unbearable burden on working-class households and public servants.
 
Access to water is a necessity. A drastic tariff increase, especially at the scale currently being discussed, will disproportionately affect workers, pensioners, and vulnerable communities. At the same time, residents continue to experience electricity instability and infrastructure failures across Johannesburg. Ongoing substation issues and power interruptions continue to negatively affect communities, productivity, small businesses, healthcare services, and the broader economy. Workers are expected to continue performing under increasingly difficult living and working conditions whilst paying more for unreliable services.
 
The PSA is concerned about the state of municipal infrastructure and service delivery. Whilst investment in infrastructure development and transport systems is important, this cannot happen at the expense of struggling residents and workers without meaningful consultation and transparency.
 
The PSA calls on the City of Johannesburg to engage in meaningful public consultation before implementing any tariff increases, reconsider any excessive water tariff adjustments that will deepen the financial crisis faced by workers, prioritise stable electricity supply and urgent infrastructure maintenance, improve accountability and service delivery before imposing additional financial pressure on residents, and protect indigent households and low-to-middle income earners from unreasonable municipal cost increases.
 
The PSA will continue to monitor developments closely and engage relevant stakeholders in defence of workers and communities affected by the worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Issued by Public Servants Association