JOHANNESBURG - Johannesburg residents are bracing for higher municipal bills from July.
The City says the increases are necessary to sustain services and upgrade infrastructure.
But with poor service delivery already frustrating many communities residents are questioning whether they’re getting bang for their buck. From 1 July, the City’s new tariffs come into effect.
The biggest driver behind the increases is the Water Demand Management Levy, which is set to jump by 65.6 percent.
Water consumption will increase by 12.5 percent, sanitation by 11 percent, electricity by 8.63 percent, refuse removal by just over 6 percent, and property rates by 3.6 percent.
READ | What you are really paying for : The breakdown of Joburg's water hikes
Johannesburg water has defended the steep increase.
The water utility's Thokozani Tshabalala said they need to ensure they have sufficient money to invest in the infrastructure.
"Secondly, there are fixed costs that we incur as an entity that we need to provide a particular service regardless of what a customer consumes. We need to ensure we have got sufficient money to invest in our infrastructure. Even in low consumption or high consumption.”
The impact on household budgets will vary.
According to the City’s own estimates, a middle-income household could see its monthly municipal account increase by around R667. Affordable households, based on a R500 000 property, could pay about R365 more each month.
And indigent households face the steepest overall increase, with monthly costs expected to rise by 13.4 percent.
Watch video for full report by Nabeeela Shaikh