My name is Michelle Jacobs and I am a pensioner with cerebral palsy. My ability to work and provide for myself has been hampered by my disability my whole life. Even though I benefit from the state’s social welfare grants, I can barely keep the lights on at home.

In 2021, the City of Johannesburg implemented a Debt Rehabilitation Programme designed to assist financially distressed ratepayers to bring their arrears municipal accounts up to date. The Programme is meant to provide financial relief to indigent persons and pensioners, like myself, who cannot, and will never be able to, afford the municipal rates being charged on our water and lights in particular.

As admirable an initiative as this is, what has actually been happening is that when those of us who are eligible to apply for this municipal debt relief, do so, and are granted the relief, we find that the arrears amount, once removed, is added back to our accounts a few months later. The next thing we know, not only is our electricity cut by the municipality, but so is our water!

The Municipality is playing with the lives of the poorest of the poor through an initiative that they introduced!

We call on all residents to stand together and demand that the City of Johannesburg puts a stop to this heartlessness and abuse of power by:

• doing an audit of everyone who has applied for, and is eligible to be granted, this debt relief, and thereafter write off their accounts for good; and
• conducting an investigation into City officials and employees who are responsible for the write-offs reappearing as arrears amounts (debts) with appropriate disciplinary action being taken against them.