More than 2 000 Swaneville residents opened their homes to officials from the Mogale City Local Municipality during a five-day indigent verification drive.

The programme, which ran from March 9 to 13, was conducted by Mogale City’s Indigent Management Unit to verify details of households registered under the municipality’s indigent support programme.

Officials visited households that had applied for the programme to confirm whether they qualify for municipal benefits and whether the required criteria are met. On the first day, 36 officials verified 20 households each during door-to-door visits.

Some verifications proved challenging as certain residents were not at home, others feared possible scams, and a few were unaware of the verification process.

Boitumelo Mpaiwa, the unit’s indigent assistant, explained that residents who were not verified during the visits could still apply at municipal offices.

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She said the municipality also assists with walk-in applications, and residents can bring the required documents to the municipal offices from Monday to Friday between 07:30 and 16:00.

Documents residents must provide:

• Certified ID copies for the account holder and all household members
• A payslip (if employed) or an unemployment affidavit (if unemployed)
• For pensioners, a South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) confirmation letter or three months’ bank statements
• Water and electricity meter numbers

“Without these documents, households cannot be approved for the indigent programme,” Mpaiwa said.

After the verification process, officials will conduct site inspections to confirm the information provided.

Approved residents receive benefits such as a 100% subsidy on property rates (as per the Municipal Property Rates Act), six kilolitres of free basic water, 50kWh of free basic electricity, municipal debt write-off, and 100% subsidised refuse removal.

For more information, contact the Indigent Management Unit on 011 668 0509.