Bramley pensioner forced to live in limbo due to city administrative delays
Portia Thembisile Nyathi, says she has been left emotionally, financially, and physically exhausted after the City of Johannesburg failed to transfer her municipal account into her name since her husband’s death in January 2023, preventing her from accessing pensioner relief benefits.
For nearly two years, widow Portia Thembisile Nyathi, has been trapped in a cycle of escalating debt, unanswered questions, and administrative dead ends at the City of Johannesburg, all while surviving on a pension with no additional income.
Nyathi, who lives on Crystal Road in Bramley, lost her husband in January 2023.
Since then, she has repeatedly visited the city’s Sandton offices in an attempt to update her municipal account and access the expanded social package (ESP), a benefit meant to assist pensioners and low-income households, but, according to her, the city has failed to transfer the account, which is under her and her husband name, into her name, despite her submitting all required documents, including a new title deed reflecting sole ownership.
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“It has been almost two years now. Every time I go there, they tell me they are still waiting for the title deeds office, but I already have a new title deed in my name. Nothing changes. I go home with no answers.”
Because the account has not been transferred into her name, Nyathi remains ineligible for the pensioner ESP rates. This has resulted in her being billed more than R4 000 every month, an amount she simply cannot manage.
“I am a pensioner. I don’t have any income. Sometimes I go without food because I must pay more than R4 000 to avoid water disconnection. At my age, I shouldn’t be going through this.”
She alleges that Johannesburg Water contractors have been sent to disconnect her supply multiple times, as penalties accumulate due to the city’s administrative delays.
Her health, she said, has deteriorated under the stress. “I’m now diabetic. I’m on chronic medication. This issue is destroying me emotionally and physically. I’m even scared that if something happens to me, my children could lose the home we worked so hard for.”
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She said city officials initially gave her ESP forms to complete, but failed to explain that the application could not be processed until the account was changed into her name. “If they explained properly from the beginning, all this suffering could have been avoided.”
Nyathi added that she does not receive municipal statements via email and must log online each month to find out what she owes.
Nyathi also approached Ward 81 councillor Joanne Horwitz, in August this year, for help. “She told me she would help escalate my situation, but after that she never responded to my messages. I feel like I have been abandoned.”
The Sandton Chronicle reached out to the City of Johannesburg and Horwitz for a comment. Updates will be provided once they are received.
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