The City of Cape Town has sought to assist its residents and customers throughout the COVID-19 lockdown period while ensuring the municipality remains healthy to deliver basic and essential services. As part of availing more than R3,3 billion in rates and services relief, the City has given rebates to more than 25 500 qualifying residents and more than 27 400 interest-free payment arrangements to qualifying customers have been made over the COVID-19 period.
All income from rates and services is used to fund the delivery of services. It is also the primary source of income used for service delivery, in accordance with the South African local government model.
Good revenue collections are required to ensure the municipality remains healthy enough to deliver services. To improve revenue collections, the City is enforcing payments of outstanding debts through effective debt management actions. This applies to those residents/businesses who have not come forward to access the benefits offered by the City to make arrangements to pay off their accounts.
‘We were recently named the most sustainable metro in the country, largely as a result of our good revenue collection efforts. This is indicative of a well-run organisation. We were also named the most trusted metro in South Africa because of our high levels of service delivery.
‘Our debt management efforts are focused on those customers who are able to pay, but refuse to do so. We offer assistance to those in need. It is therefore important for all property owners, the City’s public housing rentals and loans tenants/debtors and tenants of City leased properties, to pay their accounts in full on or before the due date or make arrangements to pay off their arrear debts over an agreed period of time, based on their ability to pay, to avoid any debt recovery actions being instituted against them.
‘The City made available more than R3,3 billion for rates and service relief. It has also continued to communicate on all channels about the relief options that are available for those who have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown regulations. The City has cut expenditure in many areas that are not urgent, so as to ensure continued service delivery without undue rates and tariff increases. According to our knowledge, the City implemented some of the lowest average rates and services increases of any metro in South Africa. Increases were kept as low as possible, only being adjusted to cover the increase in costs of providing the services. Furthermore, if one looks at comparable metros, such as Joburg, with their rates relief package, based on the City’s information, residential ratepayers in Cape Town pay less per year for the same valuation than in the Joburg metro area.
‘Internal funding sources from previous years have been fully employed in the 2020/21 budget to help reduce the impact of the pandemic on residents and ratepayers. The City continues to keep a very close eye on this as the primary source of income for the delivery of basic services is from rates and service income.
‘We’ve maintained since the start of the COVID-19 crisis that we’ll do everything in our power to ensure there is relief offered, while making sure the municipality can continue to perform its main functions of basic service delivery. This balanced approach has clearly had a positive impact. Although total debt has increased as expected, the risk is far lower than it would have been were it not for the City’s financial interventions and management,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Finance and Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson.
Assistance
- We have made R3,3 billion available for rates and services assistance in the new financial year.
- We have also made relief available for those severely impacted financially by COVID-19.
- Interest-free payment arrangements are available for those who qualify.
- Please visit http://www.capetown.gov.za/City-Connect/Apply/Financial-relief-and-rebates/Organisations/apply-for-covid-19-business-support-for-your-guest-house-or-bed-and-breakfast for relief
- Visit www.capetown.gov.za/coronavirus for more information.
For account payments:
- Online: www.Easypay.co.za or www.payCity.co.za
- EFTs: Select the City as a bank-listed beneficiary. Use only your nine-digit municipal account number as reference
- Retailers: Checkers, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Spar and Woolworths
- e-Services: Use the City’s online e-services portal
- ATM: contact your bank to add the City as an ATM beneficiary