Johannesburg - The MMC for Finance in the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, has called on residents who can afford to pay their municipal bills to do so.
The City of Johannesburg is reportedly owed millions in rates and municipal services. In some communities, a culture of non-payment had grown, leading to poor collection of rates.
Morero is on a drive across the city, engaging with communities and stakeholders. He has called on residents who can afford to pay to do the right thing and pay up for the services they have consumed.
He said the city seeks greater collaboration with communities to find lasting solutions.
Morero pleaded with communities to prioritise their municipal accounts the same way they prioritise luxuries such as pay TV and retail shop accounts.
‘’If the municipality doesn’t get the money from ratepayers, we can’t do all the service delivery things that more and more of our communities are calling for. Residents must find a healthy balance between paying for their municipal accounts and DStv accounts,’’ said Morero.
He warned that the city’s coffers were fast drying up due to the culture of non-payment. According to Morero, about 65% of its annual budget comes from revenue from ratepayers.
The city is expected to be self-funded and raise revenue from these three key sources of revenue: electricity and water supplies, and property taxes, known as rates. The money raised not only pays for basic services such as roads, refuse collection, traffic control, sewers, lights, and water but also for an expanded community police service, housing for the poor, and a refurbished bus service, among other services.
Municipalities generate or receive income from a variety of sources, including grants and subsidies from the national government, loans, fines, and penalties that the municipalities issue.
‘’Residents must continue to pay their municipal accounts on time and in full to ensure that they have electricity, clean and sufficient water, their waste is collected regularly, and they have better roads to drive on,’’ said Morero.
Addressing another community, this time around in Ennerdale, south of Johannesburg, in Region G on Saturday, May 20, 2023, councillor Morero refuted claims that the whole of Ennerdale was unable to pay for municipal services.
Morero told the Ennerdale community that he has also pleaded with the middle-class group in Soweto to pay for the municipal services because they can afford them.
‘’It’s not true that everyone here in Ennerdale cannot pay. You pay for services according to the level of your consumption. If you consume too much electricity and water, you will pay according to your consumption,’’ said Morero.
Morero committed that the Group Finance Department, which is under his watch, will roll out a three-month programme in Ennerdale to help resolve billing queries in the area. During this period, residents won’t be negatively affected by the city’s credit control action until their billing issues are solved.
The Star