Endumeni Speaker, S’duduzo Mdluli, has appealed to those who qualify, to apply as ‘indigents’ to absolve them from paying service charges.
According to Finance Manager, Bonga Mkhize, about R3 million has been allocated to elderly and/or destitute residents who cannot afford to pay for service charges.
Mr Mdluli, when addressing a recent Council meeting, said:
“We are aware that there are some families who are occupying houses that are still in the names of grandparents and others who have passed away. We also know now it is difficult for the families to change the ownership of the house since the Master of the Supreme Court is no longer in the Nyanyadu area near Dannhauser.
“Families have now got to go to Pietermaritzburg to change ownership,” said Mr Mdluli. He said the council has now offered an opportunity to all those residents who have not changed their houses onto their names by having a letter of appointment to apply as indigent beneficiaries.
He stressed that the number of people who have applied to be declared as indigent is ‘very low.
The relevant forms are available at the ‘war rooms or contact your councillor or the municipality for assistance’.