Provision of water to the most vulnerable in the City of Johannesburg remains a top priority.
Water is not only a basic right but a human right too, and access to high-quality water is what the City of Joburg strives to achieve each day.
An article published in Business Day in March by the Socio-economic Rights Institute’s Alana Potter and Kelebogile Khunou, entitled City Water Policy Hurts the Poor, makes sweeping statements and suggests that the City of Joburg is punishing the poor.
It is a trend across our country’s metros to no longer provide free basic water to all residents, but only to registered indigent residents, which is in line with National Water Policy and as recommended by the Treasury.
It is important to note that free basic services must benefit the most vulnerable and should never be hijacked for the benefit of those who can afford to pay. As the City of Joburg realigns its services and prioritises service delivery, we cannot but focus our attention on the most vulnerable in society.
To suggest that the city makes use of the Expanded Social Package (ESP) to deny the most vulnerable free basic services is far from the truth. The ESP programme aims to help the vulnerable, such as unemployed, youth, people with disabilities and senior citizens.
People with different levels of need quality for different levels of subsidy according to the city’s measure of affordability. The city has three categories that it uses as a benchmark when deciding on water subsidy.
The highest level of subsidy, aimed at those with no formal income and living in the most deprived circumstances get 15kl of free water and 150kwh of electricity (pre-paid and conventional).
The middle level of subsidy gets 12kl of free water monthly, and lowest level of subsidy gets 10kl of free water.
Without a form of registration to determine the basic needs, the city will be blinded and the social services meant for the poor will be redirected to individuals who can afford to pay.
Our ESP programme also extends to indigent families who are faced with death in the family. Those registered in the ESP database are provided with a dignified burial so as to minimise the need for a pauper’s burial in the case where the next of kin are known.
Our ESP program should be looked in what it offers to the poor and measures taken to shield the poorest of the poor against economic hardship.
We do consider that the ESP registration is slow due to the roll out of IT infrastructure; however, we engage communities on a daily basis, using community halls, clinics and other available platforms, to register those who qualify.
It is also concerning to the city that those who afford to pay for services want to claim that they need free services. Given the scarcity of water in Johannesburg, the huge inequality we are dealing with, domestic users who do not qualify as indigents should continue to pay for services and help the city to extend social packages to the poorest across the city.
The ESP programme is the most effective tool we can use to determine whether a resident can afford to pay for services or not. We will continue to engage our communities to register and benefit from the indigent programs we have as a city.
• Phalatse is the member of the mayoral committee for health and social development at the City of Johannesburg
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