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Ratepayers help Joburg avoid total service delivery shutdown during lockdown

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Ratepayers help Joburg avoid total service delivery shutdown during lockdown

1st September 2020

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The City of Johannesburg escaped a total service delivery shutdown during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic mainly because of ratepayers who kept their municipal accounts up to date ahead of the National Lockdown.

When the lockdown began in March, the City was able to stretch the revenue already collected prior to the pandemic to strike a balance between continued service delivery supply and demand on the remaining shoe-string budget of the financial year that ended in June this year, and with a 30% staff capacity due to lockdown restrictions.

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However, the City barely managed to prolong the balancing act after recording a significant under collection of revenue of up to R2.9 billion during the lockdown levels 5 and 4.

The City battled to ensure that the residents of Johannesburg were supplied with the bare minimum of basic services that included running water, electricity, and waste management, which were essential to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. Other City services such as credit control measures were deemed as non-essential had to be suspended, and some budgets redirected to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in Johannesburg communities.

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One of the greatest impacts of Covid-19 included the financial devastation that saw many ratepayers unable to pay their municipal bills, while the municipality was also unable to pass the 2020/21 Budget on time due to the lockdown. As a result, the continued supply of water and electricity, as well as waste collection services across Johannesburg communities, was placed at risk.

The City has been going to great length in building up the 2020/21 budget, which is mostly made up of revenue collected from municipal services rendered, grants and municipal taxes. However, with revenue collection still at a low, continuous service delivery is still at risk, and therefore requires that ratepayers who can afford to pay to do so. 

Residents who can no longer afford to pay their full municipal bills are encouraged to approach the City to enter into payment arrangements to avoid their services being cut off. A significant amount of the City’s service delivery budget comes from the rates and taxes that the residents of Johannesburg pay to the municipality for services produced and delivered. 

Therefore, the non-payment for municipal services consumed by residents poses a significant threat to the continuation of basic service delivery and exposes the City to increased water and electricity load shedding interruptions designed to balance demand and supply. Meanwhile, Pikitup may be forced to reduce waste collection frequency schedules in some areas in a bid to also cut costs.   

To avert these extreme repercussions, the City has had to resume revenue collection efforts which include full credit control measures. This will see services being cut off for ratepayers with outstanding accounts but had not approached the municipality to enter into acknowledgement of debt or payment arrangements.

The City is, however, offering ratepayers credit control assistance with conditions that include a 100% waiver of interest previously charged should the account holder choose to settle their account in full. The City also offers a reduced payment requirement when a ratepayer enters a payment arrangement with a 10% down payment. All ratepayers who approach the City for assistance will also not be subjected to affordability checks, however, this offer is valid until the 30th of September 2020. 

Ratepayers are encouraged not to ignore pre-termination notices issued due to overdue accounts, but to rather take advantage of the credit control assistance being offered and avoid being cut off municipal services. 

Municipal account holders who need to enter into a payment arrangement with the City or sign an acknowledgement of debt agreement may send their requests to creditcontrol@joburg.org.zaor visit their nearest Customer Service Centre across the City’s regions. 

 

Issued by The City of Johannesburg

 

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