Good news for Joburg residents caught in the thick of the city’s latest billing mess

The City of Joburg is waiving the interest on late payment of municipal services for March and April 2023.

The MMC for finance in the city said that the recent decision followings recent maintenance that took place on its Enterprise Resource Planning system.

The maintenance led to a number of customers not receiving their monthly statements on time, resulting in missed payments.

It warned that customers might receive two bills in April, reflecting bills for both March and April, which may cause some confusion.

“The April bill will also include customers’ March balance, reflecting any outstanding or paid amounts,” the city said.

“This means that customers may have a credit, or an outstanding amount, in their April statements, depending on each customer’s circumstance.”

The city said that customers who have chosen to use a fixed payment due date may also receive their statement for March this month – reflecting due dates that have already passed.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused during the system maintenance, but it was necessary to improve our service delivery. No customer will be charged any interest except for those who owed the city as of 28 February 2023, prior to the system being unavailable,” it said.

Municipal rates in Joburg have come under intense scrutiny recently in light of the recent update to its general valuation roll and several rate hikes that are open for comment.

Come 1 July, properties across Joburg may face the following proposed increases for the 2023/24 financial year:

• 5.3% average property rate increase;
• 7.0% average proposed refuse increase;
• 9.3% residential post-paid and prepaid water and sanitation increase;
• 18.64% average electricity increase.

In February, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) called for the City of Joburg to review property valuations to ensure they are fair. This increase in rates and taxes adds to the financial strain on consumers who are already facing high-interest rates, inflation, and a cost of living crisis.

Read: Electricity, water and other price hikes Joburg residents can expect this year