​The City has approved more rates relief that puts over R400-million rands back in the pockets of property owners during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

Cllr Jolidee Matongo, the MMC for Finance says the municipality will waive, retrospectively, penalty interest charges on defaulting municipal accounts between April and June. The City will also relax credit control measures for the duration of the lockdown.

“The property rates tariff will be reduced from the proposed 4.9 percent to 4 percent, the water tariff will drop from the initial proposal of 8.6 percent to 6.6 percent and the electricity tariff goes down from 8.10 percent to 6.23 percent," says Matongo.

The development comes after the City granted a reduction in proposed tariffs during the adoption of the Medium-Term Budget and IDP/Business Plan Framework. The recent relief measure has been endorsed by all political parties in Council.

Cllr Matongo says the relief will be automatically activated for residential properties.

“However, multipurpose residential, as well as business properties, need to apply to qualify for the additional rates relief," he explains.

The City has also extended the Expanded Social Package (ESP) benefits period for existing beneficiaries to reduce the number of residents needing to visit customer centres to renew their benefits during the lockdown.

Cllr Matongo notes that there is no need for ESP beneficiaries and residential property owners to visit the City's customer service centres to apply or qualify for additional rates relief as it will be automatically applied on their records and accounts, respectively.

“We, however, do appeal to ratepayers to continue paying for services to keep their accounts up to date and those in financial distress to approach the City to enter into payment arrangements to avoid future penalties," he says.

The City has also considered business property owners in the relief by reducing the business rate ratio from 1:2.6 to 1:2.3.

“I call on residents to continue adhering to Covid-19 safety guidelines and to avoid visiting the City's customer service centres for matters that can be resolved using online platforms that include telephone, emails and social media," Matongo emphasises.

Residents should contact the City's Credit Control Department on creditcontrol@joburg.org.za for more information.