Warning for Joburg motorists – JMPD now coming after your rates and taxes

Joburg motorists getting stopped at Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) roadblocks will not only be asked about their driver’s licence and car licence discs but now their utility bills as well – including water, lights, and property taxes.

This is according to the City of Johannesburg Chief Financial Officer, Tebogo Moraka​, who outlined the new strategy in an interview with eNCA as billions of rands in unpaid rates and taxes are owed to the city.

“This is a strategy to enhance our debt collection processes. JMPD themselves won’t arrest motorists for unpaid rates and taxes, but the city’s revenue team will join certain roadblocks to allow indebted residents to settle their accounts,” said Moraka.

“Motorists that have outstanding bills for services outside the specified grace periods will be approached by the revenue team, which will provide them with their statement, explain the situation and assist them with an acknowledgement of debt agreement (AoD) if they agree to do so,” he added.

He reiterated that any motorist owning rates and taxes will not be arrested. The strategy is of the aim of bringing the collection service to the resident for convenience purposes. “This is just another contact point for residents,” said Moraka.

He further noted that if there are any unresolved issues with the bills, residents at the roadblocks can also approach the officials to iron those issues out.

However, Moraka did explain that these roadblock points would be used to issue notices to residents who do not agree to an AoD and have outstanding bills for an extended period that they risk being disconnected by the city – whether it be water or electricity, etc.

Moraka said that the city is facing a massive debt issue, with it being owed upwards of R47 billion rand in unpaid bills. He added that they are trying everything they can to recover what is owed.

The City of Joburg has also targeted its own employees

Halfway through August, the city announced that it had started recovering debt from its counsellors and workers by docking what was owed straight from their salaries.

A total receipt of R13.2 million has been collected from the City of Johannesburg councillors and permanent employees who were behind on their municipal bills.

The city said it deducted more than R7 million from the councillors and permanent employees’ salaries and collected an additional R5.2 million from councillors and employees’ direct payments.

“In a clear demonstration that the city is serious about collecting the debt owed to it – even from its own employees – the city is aggressively enforcing relevant legislations and its Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy to collect the outstanding debt,” it said.

Regarding illegal connections in both formal and informal areas, Moraka said the city has already expanded its enforcement in more areas as per its municipal by-laws and is ramping up its efforts to disconnect any illegal connections, which has already yielded results.

“The city is noticing a culture of lawlessness that we need to curb now so that it doesn’t get to the point where it’s out of our hands,” he said.

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