Thousands of poorest residents can’t buy electricity after metro blocks accounts

Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has blocked the accounts of thousands of some of the city’s most destitute residents — leaving them in the dark, unable to buy electricity.

The accounts of more than 16,000 households were blocked on January 6, after the municipality pulled its Assistance To The Poor (ATTP) subsidies in September.

This followed a  probe by the metro which uncovered that thousands of the beneficiaries had died and their families had not reapplied for the service.

The households have subsequently been charged full rates for municipal services such as refuse removal, water usage and rates — which some of the residents are unable to afford — since September.

Many of the accounts have, consequently, fallen into arrears.

According to the municipality, it had tried since May last year through letters, SMSes, home visits and meetings in various wards to encourage the residents to reapply for the ATTP programme.

With thousands of the accounts now blocked, residents have been queuing up at the Master of the High Court in Govan Mbeki Avenue daily to get a letter of authority — which would prove they are the nominated executor of the deceased estate.

The letter, along with affidavits, death certificates and the IDs of all those living in the house, would enable them to reapply for the ATTP programme if they qualified.

The criteria includes that the person must be living in a property valued at R100,000 or less, with a  collective household income of R3,560 a month or less.

The policy was changed during the DA-led administration’s tenure in 2017 to include the collective household income after it was discovered that a number of municipal officials and councillors were benefiting from the programme.

The free basic services that the indigent receive include 75 kilowatts of electricity, eight kilolitres of water, 11 kilolitres of sewerage services and discounted refuse and rate charges.

An elderly Motherwell resident, who asked not to be named, said she had lived in the house since 2000 with her children, but it was owned by her father, who had died recently.

“We never received any notice that our electricity would be cut,” she said.

“The food that was in our fridge has gone off and the house is smelly.”

She had tried to buy electricity but was told her account had been blocked.

“The municipality unblocked it for seven days in January to allow us to sort this out.

“I hope we are able to do so as I can’t continue buying paraffin and candles as I am also unemployed,” she said.

During the first quarter of the financial year, the municipality discovered that about 33,000 ATTP beneficiaries had died but their households were still receiving  the benefits, according to the 2019/2020 midterm report.

It was uncovered by the auditor-general, who accessed a home affairs database to determine the status of the beneficiaries.

“The municipality conducted site visits to all the deceased beneficiaries’ properties on record and informed those found on the property that should the household living on the property wish to receive further ATTP subsidies an application was required by September 30 2019,” the report reads.

“The subsidies of the households who did not reapply were subsequently cancelled.”

Some of the people waiting at the Master of the High Court said they felt like the municipality had forgotten about them.

A Uitenhage resident, who also declined to be named, said her father had been a beneficiary of the ATTP programme since 2012.

“He died that same year — but now the municipality has cut the power.

“I am unemployed and coming here costs money as I have had to do it multiple times to sort this out.”

A Korsten woman who is living in the  house owned by her mother, who died last year, said  her account had also been blocked.

“I wish the municipality would just stop this. It is a lengthy process to solve this.”

 The  DA and EFF have called for a moratorium on the bulk blocking of accounts.

DA councillor Leander Kruger said the problem had been caused by poor management of the ATTP programme.

“This bulk blocking is a hurried approach — there are humane methods which could be used and a transition period given before the mass blocking,” he said.

“This situation has put the offices of the Master of the High Court under tremendous strain as the officials are unable to deal with the floodgate of applications for letters of authority.

“Blocking the accounts of some 20% of all indigent households in the metro, at once, is an unfair punishment of some of the poorest residents in our city.

“This situation has arisen as a result of the failings of metro officials over the last number of years to manage the ATTP process.”

Instead of answering detailed questions sent to him, municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki sent a report compiled last month for finance political boss Mkhuseli Mtsila.

The report says: “In terms of the ATTP policy, beneficiaries of a deceased property owner must reapply for ATTP benefits once the account-holder has passed away.”

After discovering the list of deceased, the municipality sent numerous letters and SMSes to their households, urging the occupants  to reapply.

“The ATTP and customer care staff availed themselves for community outreaches assisting the community to reapply.”

The report says that by January 13, 16,269 households had not reapplied and the prepaid electricity meters on these properties were blocked as a result.

EFF Nelson Mandela Bay chair Ngawethu Madaka said the party had submitted a motion to be discussed at a council meeting on February 27 that all the accounts be unblocked.

“We call for an extension of three months for all ATTP beneficiaries while the municipality runs roadshows and spreads the message over and above the normal line of communications,” he said,

ANC councillor Rory Riordan blamed the blocking of accounts on the DA.

“A few years back, we changed the onus of ATTP from the individual to the house and we said every house valued under R100,000 automatically got the ATTP, which is the system that operates in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

“We put that system into place and the DA came in with something else and now there is chaos,” he said.

But Kruger hit back, saying the ANC had introduced its version just before the 2016 local government elections as a “political trick”.

“A DA-led government ensures that where a social welfare safety net such as ATTP exists it reaches the actual intended beneficiaries,” he said.