COMMUNITY members who missed the deadline for the Special Debt Relief Programme in January can now reapply.

This follows a recent announcement by eThekwini Municipality to reinstate the programme exclusively for customers whose account disputes were still under consideration when the programme closed in January.

According to the municipality, a total of 154 account disputes, relating to electricity, water and rates bills, have been identified.

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These disputes have a combined value of approximately R112.3m.

eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba called on those who were unable to benefit from the programme due to pending account disputes to take advantage of this once-off opportunity.

The reinstated programme is open with immediate effect and will run until the end of August 2026.

“When we first introduced the programme from May to June 2025 to write off 50% of qualifying debt owed to the City as at the end of January 2025, ratepayers and various key stakeholders appealed to us to extend the programme. As a listening and caring municipality, we responded by extending it from November 2025 to January 2026 to help alleviate the financial burden on households and businesses,” said Xaba.

Xaba said during continued engagements with the public, residents who had lodged account disputes with the municipality requested that they also be afforded an opportunity to benefit, as their disputes were still being considered when the programme closed.

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“We have listened to our residents with genuine concerns, and we are pleased to provide them with this opportunity. We encourage all eligible customers to take advantage of the programme,” said Xaba.

The programme enabled the municipality to write off R515m, providing much-needed financial relief to more than 4500 customers.

Xaba urged all ratepayers who had lodged account disputes to visit their nearest municipal customer service centres for assistance before the reinstated programme closes at the end of August.

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