The City of Cape Town will avail R3,75 billion in rates and tariffs relief to qualifying residents in the new financial year, which starts on 1 July 2022.

• The City’s policies aim to accommodate and assist everyone according to their income level; unfortunately the City can’t provide blanket relief.

• The City offers rates and services relief, subsidised services to indigent residents and financial assistance in the form of interest free payment arrangements to residential and commercial customers who have been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown.

• All qualifying residents who are struggling to pay their municipal accounts should please approach the City for assistance as the City evaluates each case according to the circumstances and policies in place.

‘It takes a well-run city to manage debt sustainably and ensure that the City remains healthy enough to deliver on its core mandate, which is the provision of basic services. All income from rates and tariffs is used for basic and essential service provision. With rising costs such as fuel and food prices, the City has endeavoured to keep tariffs and rates as affordable as possible, while continuing to enable a high standard of service delivery. We’d like to thank our customers who have been paying their municipal accounts, and helping us to deliver top notch services. The City has a payment ratio of about 98%, which means the majority of customers are paying their accounts. This shows that there is trust in the metro and its billing system, and demonstrates our sound financial management. For those who are struggling to make payments, there is help on offer.

‘In addition to the indigent and rates relief on offer, the City in 2021 embarked on a debt write-off and payment incentive project, whereby debt prior to 1 July 2018 was written off, on condition that an arrangement was entered into to pay more current debts. More than R2 billion in old debt has been written off thus far and some R2 billion is still available until 30 June 2022,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Finance, Councillor Siseko Mbandezi.

More about the debt write-off incentive

• Customers are required to enter into a debt payment arrangement.

• Outstanding debt older than 1 July 2018 will then be written off.

• This incentive is only available until 30 June 2022.

• After this date, in terms of recent amendments to the City’s Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy, historic debt may still be written off, but this will be at the sole discretion of the City Manager, and also contingent on a payment arrangement.

• Customers are encouraged to visit a Contact Centre to enter into a payment arrangement to benefit from this incentive.

• A condition of the payment arrangement is that the debt which is written-off, will be reinstated if customers default on their instalment plans.

Source: City Of Cape Town