Cape Town - Mayor Patricia de Lille has prevented the inclusion of an extra electricity tariff that would hit consumers with an additional R250 charge on their monthly rates bill.
The draft budget proposed the implementation of a home user tariff of R8.21 per day for properties valued at over R1 million.
The Cape Argus has reliably learnt that due to widespread input from the public, the decision was taken not to implement the home user tariff, meaning homes valued at R1 million and more will remain on the domestic tariff.
The Cape Argus can also reveal the electricity tariff increase to be adopted by the council is 3.34%, down from a 7.78% hike last year.
It's believed the decision to halt the home user tariff is in line with the city's Organisational Development and Transformation Plan (ODTP) to be a more "responsive and customer centric government".
The Cape Argus can also reveal the proposal of a new R50 monthly rebate on rates for properties valued between R400 000 and R750 000.
For households to qualify for a 25% reduction in refuse removal charges, the property value has been increased from R400 000 to R500 000.
As a result of the ongoing water crisis, households that use more than 35kl a month will see an increase of nearly 20% on their bill come July 1.
Households using between 6- and 35kl will experience a tariff hike of between 6 and 10% compared to what they are already paying under Level 3 water restrictions.
Graphic: Devon Daniels
The City of Cape Town yesterday announced in a critical warning that dam levels had dropped to 19.7%, leaving the Mother City with just 9.7% of usable water left in its dams.
"While the last 10% of a dam’s volume is difficult to treat to acceptable standards, we have not yet reached this level. Water remains safe to drink. Water undergoes extensive filtration as well as chemical treatment before it is pressure-fed into the reticulation system," mayco member for informal settlements, water and waste services, and energy Xanthea Limberg said.
Xanthea Limberg
"Notwithstanding restrictions, residents should please work towards the consumption target of under 100 litres per person per day. A five-minute shower can use between 40 litres and 70 litres, and flushing a toilet uses 6 to 21 litres, depending on the size of the cistern. One shower and five flushes of an average-sized toilet will push a person over their daily allowance, and this is not even taking into account other necessities such as drinking, cooking, and washing of clothes and dishes. As such, the City recommends limiting time under the shower to two minutes and only flushing the toilet when absolutely necessary," Limberg said.