30 January 2006 REATHUSA MUNICIPAL ACCOUNT SCHEME TO ASSIST LOW-INCOME FAMILIES WITH DEBT WRITE-OFFS Monday, 30 January 2006 The City of Johannesburg's Department of Revenue is to launch the second phase of its programme of poverty alleviation aimed at assisting the indigent and poor in the city to rehabilitate their municipal accounts and create a culture of payment amongst its account holders. The first part of the City's indigency programme was the Municipal Services Subsidy Scheme that kicked off in May last year. To date about 92 000 people have registered for this scheme and around R1, 2 billion in arrear debt has been written off. The second part of the indigency programme is the Reathusa Municipal Account Scheme that will target municipal account holders with a gross income of R6 500 or less per month. The principles of the Reathusa scheme are that the customer concludes a formal repayment arrangement for half their debt as well as keeping their current account up to date. If they stick to this for the period agreed to and pay their arrears, they will then have their remaining half of their debt written off. Revenue Department spokesperson Mandy Jean Woods says, "we recognise that people with this level of income have some means to pay, but perhaps not the means to settle huge arrear debts immediately. So this programme aims to create an incentive for these account holders to begin paying their accounts regularly and in so doing, create a culture of paying for municipal accounts as a priority." The scheme will be launched by the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Cllr Amos Masondo, at the Coronationville Recreation Centre (corner Dordrecht and Caledon Streets, Coronationville) on Wednesday 1 February at 11am. Registration for the Reathusa scheme will begin on 1 February 2006 and end on 31st December 2006. The rules for the scheme have been kept simple to ensure that the maximum number of people can subscribe, says Woods. The person earning the most income in a household (the breadwinner) may apply. The gross monthly income of the breadwinner should be R6 500 or less per month. They need to have a valid green SA identity book; valid, recent payslip for themselves and their spouse, recent copy of their bank statement; recent copy of their municipal account. Of course, the account has to be in the name of the person registering for the scheme. The customer can simply present themselves at any of the City's regional offices and they will be assisted to see if they qualify for the scheme and then to register. "As with our previous scheme, Reathusa also requires the successful applicants to apply for pre-paid water and electricity (from City Power) meters within 12 months of their application being approved. Application for pre-paid water meters will be in accordance with Johannesburg Water's implementation plan. Again, the cost of the meter will be paid by the customer, but the installation cost will be paid by the relevant utility company," says Woods. Disconnection and reconnection fees charged until the end of June 2004 will be written off at the end of the period of the arrangements. Defaulters will have their arrangements cancelled and credit control action applied. "We believe the scheme will go a long way to assist customers who want to pay but need assistance and will be rewarded for their commitment in meeting the requirements of the programme," says Woods. Ends Issued by: Mandy Jean Woods General Manager: Marketing and Communications Department of Revenue City of Johannesburg Phone: 358-3420 Fax: 358-3639 Cell: 082 553 4211 (Please send sms if urgent) Email: mandyw@joburg.org.za