The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands that the City of Johannesburg immediately fix its chaotic billing system. Instead of automatically charging approved reduced tariffs, residents are still forced to pay the higher tariff. Residents are also forced to go through a lot of red tape to receive their refund.
One such example relates to properties defined as multi-dwelling units. These are defined as any arrangement of premises that comprise more than one dwelling unit, including semi-detached houses, simplex units, townhouses, duplex dwellings, and flats.
At the start of the 2024/2025 financial year, the City of Johannesburg approved a reduced sewerage tariff of R314.60 per unit for multi-dwelling properties valued under R700,000. However, instead of implementing this lower charge automatically, the city has continued to bill these households at the previously higher tariff of R704.47 per unit.
When residents query the inflated charges, they are told they must formally apply for a tariff change, a process that many are unaware of. Worse still, any refunds are only backdated to the date of application, rather than the date the tariff was approved. This effectively allows the city to pocket overcharges until residents take action to correct their accounts.
This practice raises serious ethical concerns. If the City can implement automatic increases when tariffs rise, why can it not apply automatic reductions? This alleged selective billing benefits only the City of Johannesburg financially at the direct expense of struggling households.
The DA Gauteng views this as a predatory revenue collection tactic that preys on residents’ lack of information relating to tariff information. While approved tariffs are publicised, most residents are not familiar with the minutiae of tariff setting and billing.
The DA will pressure the City to automatically invoice approved tariff reductions for all eligible properties and refund affected residents from the date the tariff was reduced. Tariff reductions must be automatically implemented, just as increases are. In addition, the communication regarding tariff approvals must improve to ensure residents are informed.
The City of Johannesburg must stop treating residents as cash cows. The DA in Gauteng, via its councillors serving on the Finance portfolio, will fight to ensure fairness and accountability. In addition, our Shadow MMC for Finance will request a report to determine how many properties are impacted and what the City intends to do to rectify this matter.