| 2006-04-06: Municipal services subsidy scheme a success |
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MEDIA RELEASE 6 April 2006 MUNICIPAL SERVICES SUBSIDY SCHEME A SUCCESS, WITH ARREAR WRITE-OFFS OF R1.5 BILLION ANNOUNCES MAYORThe Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Cllr Amos Masondo, yesterday announced that the Municipal Services Subsidy Scheme has registered just over 127 000 people since its inception in February 2005, and, that the total arrear amount write-off is approximately R1.5 billion, with the majority of people registered being pensioners who will directly benefit from this initiative. Revenue Department spokesperson Mandy Jean Woods said the Executive Mayor indicated in his speech to more than 1 700 people at Orlando Community Centre earlier today that the significantly high number of registrations for the scheme showed that many citizens in the City Of Johannesburg are in desperate need of assistance. The Executive continued by stating that by creating a culture of regular payment, the City Of Johannesburg would continue to grow from strength to strength. Currently, 95% of the City's income is derived from water, rates and taxes, and electricity and these funds are used to develop sustainable initiatives and ensure good service delivery for its customers. The deadline, which was on Friday 31 March, saw a number of the City's revenue offices staying open until midnight to register applicants to the scheme. "Our big volume areas were Alexandra, Dobsonville, Meadowlands, Diepsloot and Braamfontein. The City saw just over 1600 people being registered on the final day," said Woods. The Municipal Services Subsidy Scheme was a "major incentive to poor communities in Johannesburg to relieve their burden of debts but at the same time create a new culture of payment, and is intended to ease the burdens of those on pension, child headed households, HIV and AIDS breadwinners or orphans, low-income earners, the unemployed and the disabled. Ends
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