DA slams proposed Joburg municipal tariff hikes

The city proposed a 13.9% increase in both water and sanitation tariffs and a 6.6% increase for refuse collection.

It also includes electricity tariff increases ranging from 12.74% to over 18%, with pre-paid users being hit hardest.

Property rates are set to be hiked by 4.6%, with schools, both public and private, now charged more.

The DA has labelled the increases as unjustified, saying that residents are still experiencing frequent water outages, power outages, uncollected waste, and unaffordable bills based on estimated readings.

The party’s Johannesburg Shadow MMC for Finance, Chris Santana, called on the residents to submit objections to the proposed tariffs.

"The Democratic Alliance firmly rejects the draft tariff increases proposed by the ANC, EFF, PA, ActionSA coalition government in Johannesburg,” he said.

"These above-inflation hikes will plunge residents deeper into financial distress while service delivery continues to deteriorate,

"The draft tariffs confirm what we’ve long warned this coalition is tone-deaf to the economic realities faced by ordinary residents" he added

The draft proposes relief for pensioners aged 60-69 who qualify to be on the indigent register.

Earlier this month, President Ramaphosa expressed concern over the low number of indigent households in the city's register.

This week, Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero said they are updating the indigent register, which has fewer than 100,000 beneficiaries.

Morero said the system should be updated by the end of April this year. 

The city is expected to respond to the DA’s concerns on Friday afternoon.

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