Needy residents were encouraged to apply for an indigent programme catering for people who could not afford to pay for municipal services such as water and electricity, said Finance MMC Jacqui Uys during a recent billing outreach in Soshanguve Extension 7.
During the event, residents came in their numbers to query their municipal accounts.
The outreach was conducted as the City of Tshwane embarked on the revived Tshwane Ya Tima campaign, an aggressive revenue collection drive targeting customers defaulting on their payments, and disconnecting them from water and electricity supply.
Uys said a lot of residents showed up during the outreach to take control of their accounts.
Some people, she said, made arrangements for outstanding payments while others applied for the indigent programme to get free municipal services.
She said the City has embarked on the Tshwane Ya Tima campaign to cut residents and businesses’ electricity who had not paid their municipal bills.
“One of the ways that the City can ensure that we do get the income for utilities and services used is by disconnecting electricity or by restricting water. It should be known to residents that if you get to the point where your electricity is cut or your water is restricted, there will be a reconnection fee that is also added to your account.
“To avoid that, pay your account or … make your arrangement with the city. Approach us to apply for an indigent programme if you really cannot pay for services,” Uys said.
She recently disclosed that the city has about 850 000 accounts and only 84 500 had been fully paid by the due date in December.
At the weekend, the City hosted an indigent registration and verification programme for Region 1 residents at Echibini Secondary School.
MMC for community and social development services Dr Nasiphi Moya said: “The indigent management programme is one of the government’s poverty alleviation interventions. Thus, it is important to increase awareness of how applications are facilitated, how concerns are addressed and to gather community feedback for continual improvement of the assistance provided to those in need.”
She said the indigent programme sought to address the needs of those marginalised from basic services, by providing a social safety net and ensuring access to an integrated system of social services and programmes.
Pretoria News