Prepaid electricity tariff has been on the cards since Covid, says Joburg mayor

Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda says the newly introduced R200 electricity surcharge is the outcome of council resolutions since 2018, but its implementation was halted by Covid-19 due to the economic effect of the pandemic.

Gwamanda said the surcharge was intended to provide revenue to fund the city’s investment in new electricity infrastructure and for the maintenance of existing infrastructure.

“The new electricity surcharge is a necessary intervention to create fairness and equality in the city’s tariff regime. Post-paid customers have been paying the surcharge while prepaid customers were excluded. What the introduction of the surcharge seeks to do is to end the unfair subsidisation of prepaid customers by post-paid customers,” he said.

The ANC, EFF, PA, Al Jama-ah and COPE were among the political parties that voted in favour of the R200 prepaid electricity users’ monthly service fees.

The fee, which was proposed twice before but later withdrawn, took effect with other tariff rates hikes in Joburg on Monday, and has caused unhappiness among financially burdened homeowners. It was passed by council in May as part of the budget presented by Joburg finance member of the mayoral committee Dada Morero.

Gwamanda emphasised the necessity of the surcharge.

“Despite some opposition, the city asserts the surcharge is necessary to maintain and expand the system to accommodate the growing population and economic demands. As a responsible government, the city aims to use tariffs optimally for system maintenance and capacity enhancement,” he said.

Gwamanda accused parties such as the DA of “opportunistically sensationalising” the matter.

“They are attempting to subvert council decisions by arousing public sentiment, under false pretences, to gain political mileage. The surcharge is being implemented [in all] DA-run councils across the country, including Cape Town and Tshwane,” he said.

“Any attempt to sabotage this critical intervention is an attempt to deliberately collapse the city’s infrastructure and maintain the injustice of creating a two-tier tariff dispensation, where post-paid customers pay and prepaid customers don’t. The split between post-paid and prepaid customers is about 50-50, and as such we cannot, in good conscience, disadvantage one customer base in the interests of the other.”

Gwamanda urged residents to familiarise themselves with the new tariff, adding that the city would make more effort to educate the public about it.

“As a caring government, we appreciate the economic challenges that confront residents and the anxiety any new tariff brings. However, in the best interests of the city, we must act responsibly to enforce equality among our customers and protect the future sustainability of the city and its infrastructure,” he said.

ActionSA in Joburg said it will challenge the R200 fee “City Power has imposed on prepaid electrify users”.

The party’s caucus leader in the City of Joburg, Nobuhle Mthembu, said they would return to the next council sitting with the aim of rescinding the decision and sending City Power back to the drawing board to explore other available means to collect revenue.

She said: “We are hoping the mayor, together with his executive, can motivate their voting block to rescind the council decision and see the plight of residents with tough economy challenges and seek other possible avenues to collect revenue.”

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