Government of Local Unity seeks relief to the poor – MMC Morero

The MMC for Finance, Dada Morero, said the City of Johannesburg is working around the clock to ensure it takes care of its indigent residents.

Morero reiterated the city has heard the concerns of residents and various stakeholders regarding the R200 surcharge on prepaid electricity meters.

“Calls by residents and affected parties for the city to review the R200 charge because of tough and impactful economic challenges in the country have not fallen on deaf ears. We commit to reviewing this charge while noting the importance of infrastructure maintenance and upgrades, including the cost of supply studies by City Power,” said Morero.

He said there needs to be a balancing act, between those able to pay for electricity and those struggling to pay.

“I would like to emphasise the objective of the city is not to overburden residents and businesses of Johannesburg. Ours is to ensure a financially viable city that is well maintained and well run for the benefit of the more than six million residents of Johannesburg,” he said.

The tariff determination of the city takes into account the living experiences of residents. It then bases any increases on affordable to the city and residents. This is depicted through the city’s lowest rates and taxes increases out of the eight metropolitan municipalities in the country.

The city’s R200 electricity availability charge is a fixed charge levied to ensure revenue availability for sustained service delivery to carry out infrastructure maintenance and upgrades towards the seamless supply of electricity to residents.

The review should not be taken as a mere reversal of the charge. It should be viewed as the city’s balanced approach, relooking at the affordability of the residents while committed to infrastructure maintenance as urgently needed.

“The comment by the Energy and Electricity Minister that the affordability of electricity should be investigated as electricity generation and distribution costs require a multifaceted approach by all spheres of government is encouraging.

“Residents of Johannesburg can rest assured that decisions taken by the city are in their best interests including that this additional R200 charge will be reviewed in consultation with the city’s executive committee, City Power, NERSA and Eskom,” added Morero.

This review will follow the processes of s28 and s72 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, which states that a municipality can only adjust the budget once during a financial year after reviewing the mid-year performance. As part of the review of the charge and ensuring it changes during the adjustment budget, the National Treasury will also be engaged.

The MMC reiterated the cries of residents have been heard and that action will be taken to review the R200 charge on prepaid electricity.

Morero called on ratepayers to continue paying their municipal accounts every month as per the reflected due dates on the monthly invoice.