The FF Plus takes note of the decision by the Emfuleni Local Municipality (Evaton, Sebokeng, Vaal Oewer, Vanderbijl Park, Vereeniging) to offer residents whose utility bills are in arrears a 50% discount, but the party doubts that it is feasible as it involves a long drawn-out selection process.
During its most recent meeting, the Municipality adopted the proposal to allow people with overdue utility bills to apply for discount.
The Emfuleni Municipality's creditors ledger grew from R4 billion to R11 billion during the past year, so the Municipality has no choice but to write off historical debt.
The FF Plus is of the opinion that the related application process is too extensive and drawn-out and that the Council should consider an alternative.
The first step will be to establish a Selection Committee that will meet every three months to consider all the applications. But in the meantime, the outstanding debt will keep growing and, therefore, the party believes that the Committee will need to have its meetings more frequently.
Successful applicants will be given a year to pay off the outstanding 50% of the debt. Should the individual, however, fail to pay the agreed upon monthly fee during this period or fail to pay off the outstanding debt within the twelve months, he / she would be liable for the total outstanding amount.
The need for making such a concession demonstrates that the Municipality has been mismanaged for years even though it was placed under partial administration by the Gauteng government.
Because the Municipality failed to implement strict credit-control measures over the years, compelling residents to pay their utility bills, the Municipality is now forced to use extraordinary methods to try and balance its books.
The culture of non-payment is the ANC's own making and in addition to the misappropriation of funds and corruption, it is one of the greatest contributing factors to the dire situation in which Emfuleni currently finds itself.
The only way to save Emfuleni from utter ruin is for residents to stand up and stand with the FF Plus and get rid of the ANC in the upcoming local government elections.
Contact details: 076 616 2124
