Nigel pensioners unable to pay municipal arrears
Alra Park pensioners want indigent relief and debt cancellation
Susan Speelman in Alra Park, Nigel, is one of dozens of pensioners in the community who say they cannot afford to pay their monthly rates bill and are now in debt. They want the Ekurhuleni Municipality to write off their arrears. Photos: Kimberly Mutandiro
Pensioner Susan Speelman lives in the house she once shared with her late husband and children in Alra Park, Nigel. She says she can barely keep up with her monthly municipal bill and has fallen behind in recent months.
Since 2017, she owes the City of Ekurhuleni about R7,500. She applied for indigent relief months ago, but has not yet been approved. Speelman has since made an arrangement and pays an additional R150 per month to service her debt. She wants the municipality to write off her arrears or significantly reduce her monthly repayments.
“I’m struggling to survive because my Old Age grant is too little to cover all my needs. The municipality should at least make it easier for pensioners to access indigent benefits and debt cancellation,” she said.
Community representative Hugh van Greenen said, “We have requested the City to help our struggling pensioners to access indigent relief and debt cancellation for those who cannot pay off large sums of historic debts. To date, officials have not come forward. Our people are struggling.”
Another Alra Park pensioner, Fanie Swartz, said his parent, the legal owner of the RDP house he shares with his 77-year-old sister, died in 2018. They were shocked when in April 2024 the municipality cut off their water. The household arrears total about R86,000, he said.
Swartz said they can’t afford to pay this. He wants the municipality to write off their debt.
Pensioner Fanie Swartz says his household’s arrears total about R86,000.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said households with a combined monthly income of less than R8,134.40 can apply for indigent relief. The household’s property must be valued below R1.5-million, although this does not apply to pensioners.
If residents live in properties registered under a deceased relative, Dlamini said, they must present either a Letter of Authority, a Letter of Executorship or an affidavit, and a certified death certificate.
Dlamini added that the City offers families struggling with accumulated debt from deceased relatives a 75% debt write-off for properties valued at R3-million or less, with the remainder written off over 36 months. Applicants must meet income criteria, he said.
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