Residents welcome eThekwini's debt relief proposal but call for long-term solutions

IOL News

15-05-2025

The Bluff Ratepayers and Residents Association said that the eThekwini municipality's proposed 50% debt write-off is a welcome gesture, but it risks being more of a tick-box exercise than a real solution.
Image: File
GIVEN the economic times, the eThekwini Municipality's proposal to write debt off on ratepayers' utilities service bills has been received with open arms by residents, but they also fired back that the entity needed to tighten-up its overall act.
They were referring to the municipality's management and utilisation of its resources, which would help reduce the wasteful expenditure that hampers effective service delivery.
The Bluff Ratepayers and Residents Association said that the municipality's proposed 50% debt write-off was a welcomed gesture, but it risked being more of a tick-box exercise than a real solution.
Norman Gilbert, chairman of the BRRA said that while it might offer short-term relief to struggling households and businesses, it didn't address the deeper issues causing the debt—like poor service delivery, aging infrastructure, and unaffordable tariffs.
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Ethekwini councillors gave the special debt relief programme the go-ahead at a council meeting on Wednesday. The water debt as at the end of January 2025 stood at R14.7 billion, which was due to undetected underground leaks and short payments by insurers.
The municipality has found that many customers were unable to settle the debt and thus regarded this as irrecoverable.
The programme was an initiative aimed at reducing municipal debt by offering residents and businesses a 50% write-off, provided they pay the balance in full before the end of the financial year.
Other conditions include that prior to the customer settling the 50% of the arrear debt owed as at January 31, 2025, a customer must settle the entire debt from February 2025 to April 2025.
The municipality stated that should a customer not be in a financial position to settle the debt for the months after January 31, 2025, such a customer must then enter into a payment plan not exceeding six months, without making any down payment.
The total debtors book for the municipality, as at January 31, 2025 was R36 billion, which grew significantly by R7.9 billion, when compared to January 2024. Government departments and parastatals owe the municipality R1.3 billion.
Gilbert stated that the water debt highlights systemic failures that have been ignored for too long.
'Similarly, R9 billion in unpaid rates and billions in household debt show just how unaffordable basic services have become for many residents. This isn't just about non-payment, it is about survival. The situation is worsened by government debt, which sends the wrong message to the public and undermines the municipality's debt recovery efforts,' he said.
Gilbert stated that while the debt relief proposal could help reduce the growing debt book, it lacks a long-term plan to prevent the same problem from recurring.
Ish Prahladh, chairperson of the eThekwini Ratepayers and Residents Association (ERRA), stated that ratepayers should be given oversight of municipal finances to put an end to tenders, advocate for competent staff and unnecessary overtime expenditure and consultancy fees.
'A municipal debt write-off will definitely benefit residents. Pensioners earn R2,000 but have to pay R6,000 municipal bills at times (and this) makes life impossible for some residents. Hire competent plumbers to rectify the problems in the water department and cut our water losses to zero. Water insurance is pathetic as it does not cover the amount that was lost by the residents," Prahladh said.
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