South Africa - Pretoria - 4 June 2024 - Finance MMC Jacqui Uys delivers the 2024/2025 Budget speech at Tshwane House. Picture: Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers
Residents of Tshwane can brace themselves for tough times ahead after the municipality implemented new rates and tariff increases effective from July 1.
Finance MCC Jacqui Uys reminded residents that all municipal rates and tariff increases are now in force as the City officially entered the 2024/25 financial year.
She said the City understood the current difficult economic climate and pressures residents were faced with to make ends meet.
As a result, she said, the City’s leadership has worked hard to keep rates and tariff increases within their control as low as possible.
“Our rates and tariff increases are the most reasonable when compared to other large metros,”she said.
The City has upped rates for water and sanitation by 5.9%, refuse removal by 5% and property rates by 5%.
Residents will have to dig deeper into their pockets to buy electricity which increased by 12%. The City said electricity rates were beyond its control and the increases were imposed on it by bulk electricity supplier Eskom.
The City will provide 100kWh of free electricity and 12kl of free water per month and free weekly waste collection to 143 464 registered indigents as a much-needed relief.
Uys said: “As part of our efforts to support and offer social relief to our residents, all residential properties are not charged any property rates for the first R150 000 of the value of the property. Furthermore, registered indigent households pay no property rates and continue to benefit from various social relief packages offered by the City.”
She said the City had taken the policy decision to extend pensioners’ rebate to be in place for three years without requiring elderly residents to apply every year.
The City has repeatedly said it was working towards stabilising its finances and one of its core priorities was to capacitate the revenue collection campaign called Tshwane Ya Tima.
The City has in place a project management office to take charge of each aspect of the City’s revenue value chain, including rolling out prepaid electricity meters, dispatching bills, speedily resolving disputes, implementing credit control, and debt collection measures.
Pretoria News
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za
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