Joburg to implement credit controls again
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Johannesburg will resume all its credit-control measures on Monday, which means it will now cut water and electricity for the non-payment of bills for those who do not make arrangements to clear their arrears with the city.
The city had dropped these measures due to the economic devastation caused by the lockdown, which was imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. SA has been in lockdown since late March, and has just moved to level 2 as it bids to counter the economic damage caused.
On Tuesday, the city called on all its ratepayers that are in financial distress to approach the city for alternative payment arrangements to avoid penalties when the municipality resumes full credit-control measures on outstanding accounts on August 24.
“The call follows the relaxation of the Covid-19 national lockdown regulations that allows municipalities to resume full credit-control measures on outstanding municipal accounts to boost revenue collection for the sustainability of service delivery,” the city’s finance department said.
The city’s revenue collection took a huge knock during the lockdown, and has undercollected more than R1bn in revenue over the past few months.
The city appealed to its municipal account holders not to ignore pre-termination notices issued because of overdue accounts, but to take advantage of the assistance offered to avoid having municipal services cut off.
It said cutting off services would resume within a credit-control legal framework that includes issuing a pre-termination notice that will be followed up with a disconnection notice and, subsequently, a cut-off for outstanding accounts without payment arrangements.
“All ratepayers in arrears are therefore requested to contact the city immediately should they have already received such notices to avoid being cut off and further penalties,” the city said.
In a bid to cushion residents from the impact, the city reduced its proposed tariffs in 2020/2021 for services that include water, electricity, waste, and property rates.
The city has also increased rebates and extended the expanded social package benefits period for existing beneficiaries to reduce the number of residents needing to visit its customer centres.
Service delivery
The finance department said the relaxation of the lockdown regulations called on municipalities to resume revenue collection efforts that include credit controls to ensure continued service delivery to citizens.
“Ratepayers that are unable to pay their municipal accounts are encouraged to come forward and make use of credit-control assistance offered by the municipality to avoid municipal ...
The city had dropped these measures due to the economic devastation caused by the lockdown, which was imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. SA has been in lockdown since late March, and has just moved to level 2 as it bids to counter the economic damage caused.
On Tuesday, the city called on all its ratepayers that are in financial distress to approach the city for alternative payment arrangements to avoid penalties when the municipality resumes full credit-control measures on outstanding accounts on August 24.
“The call follows the relaxation of the Covid-19 national lockdown regulations that allows municipalities to resume full credit-control measures on outstanding municipal accounts to boost revenue collection for the sustainability of service delivery,” the city’s finance department said.
The city’s revenue collection took a huge knock during the lockdown, and has undercollected more than R1bn in revenue over the past few months.
The city appealed to its municipal account holders not to ignore pre-termination notices issued because of overdue accounts, but to take advantage of the assistance offered to avoid having municipal services cut off.
It said cutting off services would resume within a credit-control legal framework that includes issuing a pre-termination notice that will be followed up with a disconnection notice and, subsequently, a cut-off for outstanding accounts without payment arrangements.
“All ratepayers in arrears are therefore requested to contact the city immediately should they have already received such notices to avoid being cut off and further penalties,” the city said.
In a bid to cushion residents from the impact, the city reduced its proposed tariffs in 2020/2021 for services that include water, electricity, waste, and property rates.
The city has also increased rebates and extended the expanded social package benefits period for existing beneficiaries to reduce the number of residents needing to visit its customer centres.
Service delivery
The finance department said the relaxation of the lockdown regulations called on municipalities to resume revenue collection efforts that include credit controls to ensure continued service delivery to citizens.
“Ratepayers that are unable to pay their municipal accounts are encouraged to come forward and make use of credit-control assistance offered by the municipality to avoid municipal ...
