Joburg may have to cut frequency of waste collection to trim costs
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Johannesburg is considering reducing the frequency of waste collection in some areas in a bid to cut costs amid low revenue collection.
Africa's wealthiest city could also see increased water interruptions and load-shedding.
In a statement released by Joburg's finance department on Wednesday the city said revenue was undercollected by R2.9bn during lockdown levels 4 and 5.
Johannesburg has the biggest budget of all the municipalities in SA, and is the economic heart of Gauteng, which ordinarily contributes more than a third to SA's GDP.
Generally municipalities are revenue generating, and metropolitan municipalities such Johannesburg have the majority of their budgets funded by the revenue they raise from providing services such as water, electricity and refuse collection.
But revenue collection has taken a huge knock amid the economic lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19, which has seen job losses soar and businesses close down.
Provision of services is, however, critical for the economy to function properly.
On Wednesday the city called on residents to pay for their services, saying the nonpayment posed a significant threat to the continuation of basic service delivery. It also exposed “the city to increased water and electricity load-shedding interruptions, designed to balance demand and supply.”
“Meanwhile, Pikitup may be forced to reduce waste collection frequency schedules in some areas in a bid to also cut costs,” the department said.
It said Johannesburg escaped a total service delivery shutdown during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic mainly because of ratepayers who kept their municipal accounts up to date ahead of the national lockdown.
“When the lockdown began in March, the city was able to stretch the revenue already collected prior to the pandemic to strike a balance between continued service delivery supply and demand on the remaining shoestring budget of the financial year that ended in June this year, and with a 30% staff capacity due to lockdown restrictions,” the city said.
The finance department added that it, however, barely managed to prolong the balancing act after recording a significant undercollection of revenue during levels 4 and 5 of the lockdown. Collection rates during levels 3 and 2 of the lockdown are not yet known.
The city said it battled to ensure that the residents of Joburg were supplied with “the bare minimum of basic services that included running water, electricity, and waste management, which were essential to mitigate the spread of Covid-19".
The city did ...
Africa's wealthiest city could also see increased water interruptions and load-shedding.
In a statement released by Joburg's finance department on Wednesday the city said revenue was undercollected by R2.9bn during lockdown levels 4 and 5.
Johannesburg has the biggest budget of all the municipalities in SA, and is the economic heart of Gauteng, which ordinarily contributes more than a third to SA's GDP.
Generally municipalities are revenue generating, and metropolitan municipalities such Johannesburg have the majority of their budgets funded by the revenue they raise from providing services such as water, electricity and refuse collection.
But revenue collection has taken a huge knock amid the economic lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19, which has seen job losses soar and businesses close down.
Provision of services is, however, critical for the economy to function properly.
On Wednesday the city called on residents to pay for their services, saying the nonpayment posed a significant threat to the continuation of basic service delivery. It also exposed “the city to increased water and electricity load-shedding interruptions, designed to balance demand and supply.”
“Meanwhile, Pikitup may be forced to reduce waste collection frequency schedules in some areas in a bid to also cut costs,” the department said.
It said Johannesburg escaped a total service delivery shutdown during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic mainly because of ratepayers who kept their municipal accounts up to date ahead of the national lockdown.
“When the lockdown began in March, the city was able to stretch the revenue already collected prior to the pandemic to strike a balance between continued service delivery supply and demand on the remaining shoestring budget of the financial year that ended in June this year, and with a 30% staff capacity due to lockdown restrictions,” the city said.
The finance department added that it, however, barely managed to prolong the balancing act after recording a significant undercollection of revenue during levels 4 and 5 of the lockdown. Collection rates during levels 3 and 2 of the lockdown are not yet known.
The city said it battled to ensure that the residents of Joburg were supplied with “the bare minimum of basic services that included running water, electricity, and waste management, which were essential to mitigate the spread of Covid-19".
The city did ...