The Democratic Alliance (DA) is gravely concerned about the intended increase in tariffs for the residents of Merafong City which are expected to go into effect on the 1 July 2026.
What is most critical to note, is that these increases will provide more income to the municipality which faces a massive cash crunch of the ANC’s making. The ANC aims to make residents pay more for less or non-existent services.
This will create significant challenges for residents as they are set to pay inflated increases of:
•11.50% for water services
•9.01% on electricity
•9% on sewerage
•3.7% on refuse removal
•6% on sundry tariffs, and
•2,7% on assessment rates.
This will cause severe economic distress to many households as they find themselves in dire straits, unable to afford basic service expenses as the cost-of-living also surges.
The Indigent Policy and other national relief initiatives such as social grants are too little to cushion the blow for families already facing financial hardship as only certain households qualify.
The DA has raised their concerns in Council and will be ensuring as many residents as possible participate in the public participation process, where residents are able to dispute or reject these unjustifiable increases.
We will continue to fight for the residents of Merafong to ensure that they have affordable access to service delivery.