Fewer get free basic services

26 August 2015 - 02:45 By OLEBOGENG MOLATLHWA

Fewer residents are receiving free basic services as municipalities grapple with the rising costs of providing such services. Figures released yesterday by Statistics SA revealed that:495,164 fewer residents received free basic water last year compared with the year before;163,525 fewer residents went without free electricity in the same period; and56,746 fewer consumers of municipal services received free basic solid waste management.Across South Africa, 2.4 million people received free basic electricity, 4.6 million had access to free water and 3.2 million received free basic sewerage and sanitation services.Statistician-General Pali Lehohla said the drop in the number of people receiving free basic services was because municipalities were moving away from providing basic services indiscriminately to targeting only deserving recipients."Differences in free basic services between 2013 and 2014 are partly the result of changes in the targeting mechanisms used by municipalities to provide such services, namely technical, geographical, broad-based, self-based, consumption-based, property value and plot size," Lehohla said.The Times reported in July that the SA Local Government Association - representing 278 municipalities - was studying the cost of providing free basic water, even to those households that are in a position to pay.The outcome of the study will determine whether municipalities will continue to provide free water indiscriminately...

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