People living solely off their old persons’ grant (OPG) are now digging much deeper into their pockets as the municipality has increased the rates payable on all government services.
The increase includes a 4.9% assessment rates, 14.59% on electricity, 8.5% on water, 8.5% on sanitation and 4.9% on refuse with an increase of just R30 to their grant. With these increases, elderly residents feel that the municipality has turned their back on those who cannot make ends meet. Sheila Nagsser, a resident of Tongaat who depends entirely on her grant, said, “By the time I purchase electricity, pay for gas, factor in transport costs and other basic necessities I don’t have any money left over. I don’t even have any family to help me. It’s very hard living in these conditions. A R30 increase to the pension is absolutely nothing considering the cost of living these days. R30 is just the cost of bus fare.” The 75-year-old said she uses a prepaid electricity meter in her home to try and save on monthly bills. “R500 worth of electricity isn’t enough. I hardly even use my geyser, so I just use it to keep the lights on. I am old and suffer with many illnesses, but I don’t have enough money to go to the doctor. On cold days like these I stay in the bed but sometimes I have to go out to get my own medicines. When I was younger I was able to do everything for myself but I just can’t anymore.”
Anusha Reddy recently lost her job when the company she worked for closed down due to the pandemic. She lives with her mother who collects the OPG and both survive purely on this income. “My mother had just suffered a stroke and is currently in hospital. This is going to make life extremely difficult for us. She is going to need lots of medical attention and I am worried I will not be able to do enough for her. She is on chronic medication for diabetes and her sugar levels were not stabilising. We didn’t want to but finally had to resort to hospitalisation.” Reddy said she is currently unemployed for over a year but tries to find odd jobs to make some extra cash, however, she believes the increase in rates is going to be very difficult to deal with. Councillor Dolly Munien said she was against the proposed increase as she feels the cost of living is already too high. “As it is these pensioners are failing to buy food to survive. How will they manage to pay for their utilities? These concerns were brought to my attention by the community who live in these rental housing schemes as they say they can barely make ends meet with their current financial situation. These people are old and live on their own. Now they have to face more financial stresses with these increases. Why should they be asked to pay so much for their utilities?” Despite efforts made to reach the eThekwini Municipality for comment, they had yet to respond.
