The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has decided to conduct a verification process to establish if all the households receiving Assistance To The Poor (ATTP) actually cannot afford to pay for municipal services.
The decision was taken on Wednesday at a Mayoral Committee meeting after the Municipality said it had come to its attention that some residents who can afford to pay for the services receive the benefits of the ATTP programme.
The Municipality said initially the ATTP policy was meant for domestic customers who had a total income of no more than R 2 840 per month.
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality said currently, the ATTP policy provides help to residents whose properties are valued at less than R100 000, regardless of household income.
The Metro said in a statement that this had led to municipality being unable to "provide free, long-term services to deserving residents due to financial constraints it creates."
"The verification process being rolled out will ensure that only recipients who legitimately cannot pay for services are benefiting from the programme," the Municipality said.
The Mayoral Committee had agreed to help a accommodate home-owners whose properties are valued at R100 000, should they meet the ATTP requirements.
"When we took over as the new government we made a commitment to be a pro-poor government and deliver basic services to deserving households. We remain committed to providing basic services to the poor, but we also need to take into account the fact that some families are benefiting from the ATTP while they can afford to pay for services rendered," Executive Mayor Athol Trollip said.
The mayor added the municipality will stop providing free basic services to people who do not meet the ATTP criteria, which will be determined by through the verification process.
"A proper analysis of each beneficiary status will be conducted to verify if the individual is in a position to pay for municipal services rendered. No services will be interrupted until the verification process has been completed and the municipality is satisfied with the outcome," Trollip said.
