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The Citizen
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Mamelodi hits back at relief scheme: ‘Scrap debt for all, or none!'
Mamelodi hits back at relief scheme: 'Scrap debt for all, or none!' Tshwane metro recently announced that they have written off more than R4.4-billion of debt to 20 000 amnesty applications from residents who tampered with their electricity meters. This initiative, championed by Deputy Mayor and MMC for Finance, Eugene Modise, was designed to ease the financial burden of municipal debt. However, Mamelodi residents are still complaining that despite applying for amnesty, they have not had any feedback from the council, and some residents are still receiving final letters of demand. President of Mamelodi Concerned Residents for Service Delivery, Oupa Mtshweni, said more and more people are still coming to his office complaining about receiving final letters of demand, despite applying for amnesty. 'Debt must be scrapped for all people of Mamelodi because the problem stems from the incorrect, estimated billing system, which affected most and not only those the metro regards as indigents,' he insisted. He said he had pleaded with the deputy mayor during his visit to Mamelodi to deal with illegal connections at informal settlements before helping the residents of Mamelodi. 'We cannot pay for municipal services while illegal squatter camps around Mamelodi get the services for free,' said Mtshweni. He added that when Tshwane is done with the informal settlements, it should come back and discuss the scrapping of debt for all residents of Mamelodi. 'When these estimations started, it affected everyone in Mamelodi – therefore scrap all municipal bills for all residents and we all start afresh from zero,' said Mtshweni. He said that they are still waiting for the metro to remove all illegal connections in informal settlements around Mamelodi. Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the city's Finance Department has submitted applications for amnesty to its Electricity Department, but they have not received the exact figures for Mamelodi or per region. Mashigo said these will be available once job cards are assigned and the meters are attended to. He added that a total of 20 056 applications from across the city have been received. 'The number might rise slightly as counting wraps up. For the incentive and debt relief scheme, we received 1 033 applications, with a total debt of more than R147-million.' He added that the metro reported a late rush in submissions. 'More than 50% of the applications were received in the last week before closing.' All applications received under the debt relief scheme have been approved, with some receiving a partial write-off after agreeing to a payment agreement. With regard to the electricity amnesty process, which targeted illegal meter tampering, the metro said it had already captured 17 140 of the 20 056 forms. A total of 10 741 were issued to the electricity department, but only 300 had been normalised so far. 'The process is ongoing until all legible [applications] have been normalised.' Mashigo said that while the debt relief approvals are nearly finished, the amnesty programme is still in progress. 'The total value of municipal debt written off through the combination of indigent relief, inactive accounts, and incentive schemes stands at a staggering R4.4-billion.' He said the incentive and debt relief scheme helped write off R66.4-million in debt owed by 918 residential accounts and 66 businesses, who together owed R147.4-million. Of this, R81-million was either collected or payment arrangements were made. 'The scheme is not a simple debt write-off arrangement. The metro incentivised customers to settle a portion of their municipal accounts or enter into a settlement arrangement to benefit from a write-off of a portion of the debt.' Although the amnesty campaign focused mainly on electricity, the incentive scheme covered all services, including water, refuse, and sanitation. Mashigo said on the indigent relief side, about R2.4-million was written off from 85 361 indigent accounts, an intervention aimed at aiding the poorest residents. The metro plans to review the effectiveness of the campaign, and the outcome of that review will inform the next course of action. Mashigo said Tshwane's credit control and debt collection policy remains the central guide to future financial strategy, and that this policy includes ongoing measures, such as disconnections and prepaid blocking. He closed by saying, 'The metro's revenue recovery has been enhanced by the R81-million recovered or committed to through arrangements.' Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to [email protected] or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Eyewitness News
27-04-2025
- General
- Eyewitness News
New report describes how coal pollution is harming Highveld
People living in Phola and Carolina in Mpumalanga are bearing the brunt of coal mining pollution in the Highveld. Ronesa Mtshweni from Amandla Community Development in Carolina said the community is struggling with contaminated water, and this is hurting the health of residents. She was at the launch, on 15 April, of a report titled, Systems Change for a Just Transition. It was published by the environmental justice organisation groundWork. People at the launch who live in homes near mines described their concerns about acid water contamination and chronic health problems from air pollution. The report states that 'coal mining … is extremely destructive of the environment' and has 'seriously impacted on the health of residents of the Highveld'. The report shows the 'immense scale' of the acid mine drainage caused by coal mines. The Upper Olifants River catchment, its epicentre eMalahleni (Witbank), has been heavily polluted by the surrounding mines decanting acidic water from active, abandoned mines, and seepage from dumps, affecting the groundwater and soil. In 2012, thousands of Carolina residents were warned not to drink their tap water due to high acidity. After legal proceedings by Lawyers for Human Rights and the Legal Resources Centre on behalf of Carolina residents, the North Gauteng High Court ruled that the municipality had a duty to provide the residents with safe drinking water. Mtshweni said that over a decade later the community's water is still contaminated. She said that many mines had not been rehabilitated, causing land degradation. 'The issue around that is we have livestock. Even cars fall into those pits, and the government is doing nothing about it,' she added. Twelve of Eskom's 15 coal-fired power plants are in Mpumalanga, along with over 200 active coal mines and hundreds of abandoned ones. Sasol's Secunda plant is described as the biggest, single point carbon dioxide emitter in the world. The report states that an 'ecological debt' is owed to people in Highveld communities. 'Breathing is not a choice. The atmosphere is a common and, by polluting it, industry has enclosed it,' the report reads. The report mentions a study done for the Life After Coal campaign which describes the chronic conditions experienced by Phola residents including high blood pressure, eye problems, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as high levels of respiratory problems. The report notes that community members also reported an uptake in cases of asthma and bronchitis. Many people from Phola 'are aware that coal mining is affecting their health' and about 75% of the respondents mentioned air pollution and dust from coal mines. (How this compares to the rest of the country isn't stated in the report.) Ntombi Ndaba from the Phola Environmental Justice Community said: 'People started getting eye issues, kidney and skin problems and looking at the timeline, the issues started when mining came into the community.' She said urgent action was needed to control the harm caused by mining in the Phola community. Ndaba added that sinkholes and blasting have damaged their homes. Blasting also causes dust pollution. 'Dust is a big issue,' she said. GroundUp previously reported on residents of Phola complaining about rock blasting from nearby mines damaging their homes and dust from mines causing plumes of dust and air pollution. The groundWork report calls for a 'just transition' to clean energy, in which communities are strengthened and civil society has a greater say. This article first appeared on GroundUp. Read the original article here.
The South African
23-04-2025
- General
- The South African
Low pressure to no water for 42 hours in some Johannesburg areas
Parts of Johannesburg will experience low pressure to no water for 42 hours from Wednesday, 23 April, due to planned maintenance. The maintenance is scheduled from 18:00 on Wednesday, 23 April to 12:00 on Friday, 25 April. JOHANNESBURG WATER TO CONDUCT 42-HOUR MAINTENANCE Johannesburg Water said its teams will be installing pipes at the Hector Norris Pump Station, and this will result in low pressure to no water. Water tankers will be provided as an alternative supply, however, locations have not been confirmed. The following areas will be affected by the planned maintenance: Johannesburg CBD Newtown Selby Jeppestown Doornfontein Meanwhile, Johannesburg Water has reiterated that theft and vandalism are negatively impacting supply to both businesses and residents as vital assets such as pipes, pumps, and manholes are frequently targeted by offenders. Johannesburg Water's General Manager of Operations, Mzakhe Mtshweni, told Alex News that acts of vandalism not only compromise service delivery but also pose a grave danger to public safety. 'Tragically, missing manhole covers have led to the loss of lives, with families mourning loved ones who have fallen victim to these hazards. This senseless destruction is costing both lives and livelihoods, and urgent action is required to address the issue,' he said. The publication further reported that Johannesburg Water plans to introduce smart manhole covers equipped with sensors at strategic locations to monitor tampering. These smart covers will facilitate 24/7 oversight, enabling immediate action either to thwart theft attempts or to ensure prompt replacements when needed. 'The ongoing theft and vandalism of Johannesburg's water infrastructure is crippling service delivery and putting lives at risk. Johannesburg Water is tackling these issues by enhancing security, raising public awareness, and working with law enforcement. With investments in infrastructure upgrades and smart technologies, the entity is focused on restoring reliable services and protecting its assets,' Mtshweni said. DO YOU LIVE IN JOHANNESBURG? HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THE ONGOING WATER OUTAGES AND SUPPLY INTERRUPTIONS DUE TO MAINTENANCE? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
