January 30, 2006
By Anish Abraham
THE City's revenue offices will remain open till late today, 30 January, to cater for the large numbers of residents coming forward to take advantage of Johannesburg's Municipal Services Subsidy Scheme.
Although there is no cut-off date to apply for the subsidy itself, one feature of the scheme expires on 31 January – successful applicants will have their arrears debt written off.
People applying from February onwards will still be able to benefit from the subsidy, but will have to pay off any remaining debt owed to the municipality for rates and services.
"We had quite a flood of people at a number of our offices trying to register before the deadline tomorrow," said Mandy Jean Woods, general manager for marketing and communications at the department of revenue.
Woods said that, in its efforts to process the applications of as many residents as possible, revenue offices would be kept open as long as people were queuing up. "Even if it means staying open until midnight tonight," she said.
Woods has urged residents applying for the municipal services subsidy to be patient and that they should ensure they had all the right documentation in hand.
These include:
- Original or certified copy of ones ID book.
- Copy of their latest municipal account.
- Proof of income (Copy of latest payslip).
- Affidavit from the SA Police Services confirming employment status if unemployed.
- National Social Security Grant card (For pensioners and people with disabilities).
- Letter from the South African Revenue Service confirming tax status; and
- Copy of death certificate of the account holder, where applicable.
Currently, the City provides six kilolitres of water, 50 kilowatts of electricity and assessment rates for properties valued less than R20 001 free of charge to indigent residents.
The Municipal Services Subsidy Scheme will cover the remaining charges of refuse removal and sanitation.
Toward the end of last year, arrears of more 84 000 residents had successfully registered, with more than R1-billion of debt written off.
The Revenue Department expects it will have to write off arrears totalling R1,5-billion, mainly arising from water and electricity charges.
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