WEDNESDAY, 5.30PM
GAUTENG local government MEC Sicelo Shiceka on Wednesday said local authorities in the province have recovered more than R500-million in rates and service payments since the government began the cutting electricity supplies of defaulters on August 5.
He said the amount collected constitutes 13% of the R3,8-billion owed to Gauteng local authorities by ratepayers. Shiceka said R600 000 had been collected in KwaThema on the East Rand, where electricity cuts have sparked violent protests.
He said the focus of government’s Masakhane campaign had shifted from persuasion to coersion, Shiceka said. “Persuasion hasn’t been taken seriously, so we are now at the stage of coercion, and it’s paying dividends,” he said. Masakhane was launched after the 1994 elections to persuade township residents, who had boycotted payments to apartheid local autghorities for years, to start paying rates and service charges.
Shiceka said although the Masakhane campaign is about visible delivery, deepening democracy and transforming society, the issue of payment for services is critical to the success of the campaign. He added the debt crisis of some local councils is so serious that the payment of salaries is in jeopardy.
He echoed the repeated calls by local council leaders for those who genuinely cannot pay for rates and services to register with the council in order to receive a subsidy.
Meanwhile, the Springs city council on Wednesday said it is continuing disconnecting the electricity supply to all rates and service defaulters, despite ongoing negotiations with the affected parties. The council said it will continue to disconnect supplies to consumers who default in making payments for the electricity they consume, neglect to make arrangements for payment of arrears, illegally reconnect electricity to their homes and tamper with electricity meters.