West residents unhappy with the continuation of #TshwaneYaTima
Residents of informal settlements have often expressed frustration over a system they believe was implemented to target them.
Residents west of Pretoria have expressed their frustration with the metro’s recent announcement concerning the aggressive implementation of the Tshwane Ya Tima campaign.
During a press conference last week, Tshwane mayor, Cilliers Brink stated that the metro intends to “get its house in order” regarding non-payment for municipal services.
“A lot of the focus in the past has been about publicising cutoffs and focusing on major institutions that owe. The focus now will be ensuring that our house is in order,” Brink stated during the press conference on July 4.
“If we are not metering what is being consumed… if we are not billing what is being metered… if we aren’t doing credit control, then it won’t be effective in the long run.”
The campaign aimed at cutting off municipal services to non-paying consumers garnered a notorious reputation, particularly in the townships.
Residents of informal settlements have often expressed frustration over a system they believe was implemented to target them.
In late May, members of the Mamelodi branch of the South African national civic organisation (Sanco) accused the metro of targeting Mamelodi residents with the campaign.
Secretary Millicent Mtshweni questioned why out of all places would the municipality start switching off supply in Mamelodi.
Mtshweni told Rekord that there are businesses and suburban areas that owe millions of rand and it did not make sense for community members to pay rent while some were under the indigent policy, which meant they were exempt from paying rent.
Metro spokesperson, Linda Mashigo had previously told Rekord that the Tshwane Ya Tima campaign does not target anyone except defaulting customers.
Mashigo also reminded residents that the municipality cannot generate its own power but relies on Eskom, hence the need to continue with #TshwaneYaTima so it too can service its debt.
West residents that attended a community engagement in mid-June disagree, arguing that the campaign solely targets the poorest of the poor.
“There is no way to implement Tshwane Ya Tima until we meet our needs,” said Atteridgeville resident, Caroline Mahlangu.
“Firstly, we handed a memorandum to the Speaker’s office stating that we want the City of Tshwane to scrap guestimated bills.
“We gave the city 14 days to respond and instead, they want to implement Tshwane Ya Tima. How cruel are these people? They can’t even think about the poorest of the poor child-headed household and pensioners who are earning as little as R2 000 a month but can be billed R3 000? They should think twice before starting this,” Mahlangu said.
A fellow resident of Caroline expressed similar concerns regarding the campaign’s implementation and unanswered memorandum.
“My comment is that the metro must find the people who stole the money owed within their own ranks which contributed to the debt it finds itself in and answer the memorandum of June 14 before we talk about #TswaneYaTima,” said Melita Mphahlele.
Members of the Lotus Gardens, Atteridgeville and Saulsville civic association (Lasca), along with various ward councillors and metro representatives were in attendance at this mid-June meeting.
In the memorandum drafted for the Speaker to hand to the council, were the following demands:
– A special urgent council sitting for all councillors to vote in favour of scrapping the “erroneous” estimated bill system.
– The complete end of the Tshwane Ya Tima campaign, especially in townships.
– An end to debt collection contracts.
– An end to credit control actions.
The 14 days have come and gone without a response.
Finance MMC Peter Sutton, who attended the meeting, had stated that he’d work with Lasca representatives present to end the campaign.
Lasca chairperson, Tshepo Mahlangu said the recent about-turn was a sign of disrespect.
“The recent comments by the mayor clearly prove that his administration is not keen to work with communities of Tshwane, especially in townships.
“MMC of Finance Peter Sutton attended a community meeting in Atteridgeville where he vowed to stop the notorious Tshwane Ya Tima campaign in Tshwane townships,” Mahlangu stated.
Mahlangu accused the metro of being a crime scene of corruption, maladministration, nepotism and suppression of memorandums and motions by residents.
“Brink must get his house in order before he bitterly resorts to implementing the notorious Tshwane Ya Tima campaign. The campaign won’t resolve the metro’s financial woes.
“We won’t allow our residents to be bullied. We won’t foot any bills incurred through corruption. We are not scapegoats but residents of Tshwane,” Mahlangu continued.
At the press conference, Brink thanked residents who pay their bills on time, stating that they are the ones that “keep the metro together”.
The metro aims to grow this pool of paying consumers whilst giving assurance to these consumers that the services they pay for will increase in quality.
Watch here: https://twitter.com/tshwane_mayor/status/1676236227349970946
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