JoburgCAN calls on City of Joburg to overhaul discriminatory refuse and sanitation tariffs.

“These Joburg tariffs do not follow the requirements of the National Treasury’s tariff setting methodology,” according to Julia Fish, manager of JoburgCAN.

Image: JoburgCAN

JoburgCAN, an initiative of OUTA, believes the City of Johannesburg’s sanitation and refuse tariffs are discriminatory.

“The City flouts National Treasury standards, charging tariffs using indefensible methodologies based on the size of properties rather than on consumption, making the practice unfair,” according to Fish. “The City’s budget and tariffs do not allow for residents to make lifestyle adjustments to save money and make bills affordable by lowering their consumption, as levies and taxes are charged in a way that does not take usage into account,” says Fish.

The regulatory framework that defines how a municipality sets and administers tariffs, section 74 of the Municipal Systems Act, states that users of municipal services should be treated equitably in the application of tariffs and the amount individual users pay for services should generally be in proportion to their use of that service. Poor households must have access to at least basic services through tariffs that cover only operating and maintenance costs, special tariffs or life-line tariffs for low levels of use, or other direct subsidies.

This section states that “tariffs must reflect the costs reasonably associated with rendering the service” and that a tariff policy may differentiate between different categories of users  “as long as the differentiation does not amount to unfair discrimination”.

The City of Johannesburg offers these domestic sanitation tariffs:

• A flat rate per erf per month based on the size of the erf plus a demand management levy and VAT; or
• A block rising tariff based on water consumption for those on prepaid water meters, plus a demand management levy and VAT. (This is deemed to be applicable currently only to households benefitting from, for example, the Soweto Infrastructure Project and new private developments where prepayment meters are installed).

The Medium-Term Budget 2023/24 – 2025/26 document does not provide any explanation  for the alternative sanitation tariffs or why only some households are permitted to access the tariff linked to water usage.

JoburgCAN believes that the method used to levy sanitation charges based on the size of the property for residential users is incorrect and indefensible. There is no logical comparison between the size of the property and the volume of waste water to be treated by the municipality. A fair and reasonable allocation of costs that determine tariff setting cannot be linked to the difference in categories of consumers if done to value rather than consumption.

In terms of refuse charges and solid waste removal, the draft budget for 2024/25 says Pikitup has, since 2016 ,  moved away from charging for waste management services (refuse removal) based on the number of bins to charging a levy based on the market value of property instead.

Fish says “JoburgCAN believes the refuse charge also amounts to unfair discrimination against some users, as users with different use of the service will pay the same amount for waste services within each value block. This discrimination is amplified by the impact of the rising block tariff approach followed. Although tariffs based on property value are generally regarded as a strong proxy for income and thus affordability, the relationship may be poor which will also result in unfair discrimination.”

Non-residential properties are charged a city cleansing levy instead of refuse removal. This is also based on the value of the property.

“JoburgCAN therefore regards the City’s waste management tariffs as incorrect and indefensible.  There is no logical comparison between the value of a property and the refuse charge or the city cleansing levy to be collected,” says Fish

In our response to the City’s draft budget and proposed tariffs,  JoburgCAN calls on the City to address this inequality and align the tariffs to the Standardised Tariff Setting Methodology issued by National Treasury.

A soundclip with comment by Julia Fish, the Manager at JoburgCAN, is here.

JoburgCAN made a detailed submission to the City of Johannesburg, strongly criticising the draft budget and IDP. See more here.

More about JoburgCAN is here.

 

JoburgCAN is an initiative of OUTA and was established to improve service delivery, engage in local government affairs, and foster community within the City. JoburgCAN represents affiliates and supporters residing in all seven regions of the City. As a properly established community-based organisation, JoburgCAN acts in unity and on behalf of its affiliates and supporters.