The Ekurhuleni Metro Council (Boksburg, Alberton, Benoni, Kempton Park, Springs, Germiston, Brakpan, Edenvale, Nigel and surrounding areas) definitely did not take into account the shrinking economy and the impact that Covid-19 has had on residents when it adopted its unrealistic 2021/22 financial budget.
Service delivery is deteriorating by the day and a budget that makes very little provision for improving service delivery is a recipe for disaster.
The general excuse that the Covid-19 pandemic is to blame for the poor service delivery is unacceptable. Service delivery has been deteriorating long before the pandemic broke out and the financial crisis in which the Metro currently finds itself can certainly not be blamed on Covid-19 either.
While residents are frequently plagued by power outages as a result of poor management and a lack of routine maintenance, electricity tariffs for households will increase with 14,59% and with 17,8% for mass consumers.
Residents will also have to pay 7% more for garbage disposal services, which are not even provided in certain areas.
Sanitation services will increase with 8%, but residents in Kempton Park, among other areas, cannot bear to live with the stench of sewage flowing through their properties and polluting the nearby marshlands.
The following tariff hikes have been approved:
• Water – 8% (2% higher than Rand Water’s increase)
• Sanitation – 8% for households and 17% for industries
• Garbage disposal – 7%
• Electricity – 14,59% for domestic consumers and 17,8% for mass consumers
• Grave and cemetery services – 6% for residents, which is extremely unfair in a time when the number of deaths has increased sharply due to the Covid-19 pandemic
• Municipal bus tariffs – 4,15%
The FF Plus cannot support a budget that does not have the best interests of the people at heart and that does not prioritise service delivery.
With the local government elections in October this year, Ekurhuleni residents will have the opportunity to stand up and stand with the FF Plus to send a strong message to the ANC: Poor service delivery and the utter decline of the Metro will not be tolerated.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Jennifer Glover on FF Plus
