Tshwane residents wary city’s debt-relief programme has a catch

Some Tshwane residents keen to take advantage of the city’s municipal services debt-relief programme are worried there is a catch and that their debts won’t just be cancelled without any sort of punishment.

The newly introduced debt-relief programme is aimed at assisting residents and businesses to settle their municipal arrears. .

The initiative offers substantial debt write-offs under specific conditions and aims to boost revenue collection and discourage illegal electricity and water connections.

Despite the programme’s amnesty waiver on tampering fees, which expires at the end of March, many residents have been hesitant to take part in the scheme.

Oupa Mtshweni, leader of the Mamelodi Concerned Residents Association, said a lot of residents have been apprehensive about the scheme..

“There are some residents who have gone to the municipality, but they have met a lot of pushback,” he said. “Others who have debts ranging between R250,000 and R1m are scared [and wondering] if their debt would just be wiped clean without any sort of punishment or catch.”

Tumelo Maluleke, 47, from Hammanskraal, is one of those who are worried. He is unemployed and lives in his grandmother’s house. There are also tenants in rooms on the property that owes about  R250,000, including penalties.

It has been years since any service was paid for and Maluleke has bridged the electricity supply.

“I’ve been unemployed for more than two years and even with the small piece jobs of welding that I do here and there, it’s not really enough to sustain paying electricity that would last my family throughout the month. This programme sounds good, but what if I can’t afford the new meter they want me to install?” Maluleke said.

Mtshweni said a lot of residents are “finding it very hard to trust this programme because they fear that, after everything is done, they won’t really see any difference at all. Who knows after how long the city will then go and install all these new meters?”

City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said Tshwane is owed R30bn for services and that since the beginning of March, they had received 4,000 amnesty applications.

Mashigo said to ensure debtors remain compliant after receiving relief, the city’s credit control and debt collection policy will be strictly enforced against any customers who fail to meet their payment commitments.

“This ensures that beneficiaries adhere to their financial commitments and prevent further accumulation of arrears,” he said. “Many customers fell into arrears due to job losses or financial difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since many have yet to recover financially, the city deemed it necessary to offer relief. However, it is important to note that there is no outright debt write-off, except for indigent customers and inactive accounts.”

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