The City of Johannesburg has announced that the application window for the fourth phase of its Debt Relief Programme closed on October 31. This phase of the programme had been initiated on November 1 last year and was aimed at allowing qualifying customers to deal with historical municipal debt by means of targeted financial relief and structured repayment frameworks.

“The Debt Relief Programme reflects our commitment to balancing financial compassion with fiscal responsibility,” explained Johannesburg’s Group CFO Tebogo Moraka. “We recognise the financial pressures experienced by many households, while acknowledging that reliable municipal services depend on a sustainable revenue base. Our objective is not simply to reduce historical debt, but to help qualifying customers restore their accounts to a manageable position, encourage consistent payment of current municipal charges and strengthen the long-term financial relationship between the City and its residents.”

The programme had been open to qualifying residents, beneficiaries of the Expanded Social Package, pensioners, estates of deceased people, and other eligible categories of customers. Applications were facilitated across all seven of the City’s regions, through Customer Service Centres and focused community outreach activities.

As of July 31, there had been 18 043 applications to the programme, involving outstanding municipal debts totalling R2.052-billion. Of that total, some R1.248-billion had qualified for debt relief and had been submitted for processing. The final figures would of course be significantly higher.

Currently, the City was consolidating and verifying the applications received. These processes included confirming that the applicants were eligible, validating the outstanding balances, checking the supporting documentation, and ascertaining the qualifying debt relief in line with the programme’s approved criteria.

“We remain committed to ensuring that all applications received within the prescribed period are assessed fairly, accurately and transparently,” he assured. “Our priority is to implement qualifying relief in accordance with approved municipal policies while continuing to support responsible account management.”

The City explained to programme applicants that the verification and processing processes were ongoing. They should keep their application reference numbers and supporting documents, check their municipal statements every month, and give prompt responses to any requests for more information sent to them by means of official City communication channels. Once all the verification and processing had been completed, customer accounts would show the approved debt relief adjustments. Customers should continue paying their monthly municipal charges and keep to their existing payment arrangements until their applications were approved and implemented.

Approval of a debt relief application was not automatic.

Customers who missed the October 31 deadline, or who did not qualify under Phase 4 criteria, could still approach Customer Service Centres to investigate alternative ways to manage their debts. These included Acknowledgement of Debt agreements, which would allow those that qualified to pay off their municipal debts by means of structured payment plans, subject to the City’s policies regarding credit control and debt collection. Pensioners and low-income households, who qualified, could also continue to receive assistance through the Expanded Social Package and by the appropriate municipal rebates.