28 June, 2005 Press Release R510 MILLION WRITTEN-OFF AGAINST MUNICIPAL SERVICES SUBSIDY IN SIX WEEKS Around R510 million has been written off in by the City of Johannesburg's Department of Revenue against account holders who qualify for the municipal services subsidy scheme, according to the Department's spokesperson Mandy Jean Woods. A special registration drive for the scheme was launched on 4 May and at the time the City announced that it anticipated at least 100 000 account holders would qualify for the scheme resulting in an estimated write-off of arrears totaling R1,5 billion. So far, more than 37 000 account holders have registered. "We are registering an average of 1 000 account holders a day which exceeds our expectations by several hundred," she says. The majority of all registrations come from the Soweto area. Of those that have registered, 57% are pensioners, 22% are unemployed and 12% have a low income. "We have 20 account holders who have indicated they are scholars that you could consider as child-headed households," says Woods. The arrear costs are mainly made up of water and electricity charges. In its mandate to provide free basic municipal services to vulnerable groups, the City of Johannesburg is currently providing the following services: Free 6kl of water per month to all residents; Free 50 kw of electricity to residents who receive electricity supply from City Power; no charge for assessment rates for properties valued less than R20 001. The Municipal Services Subsidy provides a subsidy to cover the remaining charges of refuse removal and sanitation. In addition, successful applicants will have their arrears written-off. Special registration days continue to be held throughout the City to cope with the demand. In this regard the next areas for Phase Two have been identified as: 30 June to 2 July - Pimville (for people living in Pimville and Klipspruit); 06 July to 8 July - Lenasia (for people living in Lenasia south, Lawley 2 and Lenasia) 11 July to 13 July - Orange Farm 12 July to 16 July - Ivory Park and Rabie Ridge 18 July to 20 July - Diepsloot Youth Centre (for people living in Diepsloot) Other areas to be visited in the rest of July include Coronationville, Vrededorp, Riverlea and Roodepoort. ENDS Issued by: Mandy Jean Woods Director: Marketing and Communications Department of Revenue City of Johannesburg Phone: 407 7356 Fax: 403 7738 Cell: 082 553 4211 (Please send sms if urgent) Email: mandyw@joburg.org.za