eThekwini reopens debt relief programme for disputed accounts

Mayor Cyril Xaba encouraged all eligible customers to make use of the once-off opportunity before the deadline expires.

The eThekwini Municipality has reopened its Special Debt Relief Programme for customers whose account disputes were still under review when the original programme ended in January 2026. The move is intended to provide qualifying residents and businesses with another opportunity to benefit from the debt relief initiative.

Approved by the eThekwini Municipal Council, the reinstated programme applies only to customers with unresolved disputes relating to electricity, water and property rates accounts. The programme is now open and will remain available until the end of August 2026. Municipal officials have identified approximately 154 qualifying account disputes, representing a combined value of about R112.3 million. Mayor Cyril Xaba encouraged all eligible customers to make use of the once-off opportunity before the deadline expires.

Programme follows requests from customers with pending disputes

Xaba said the municipality first introduced the Special Debt Relief Programme between May and June 2025, allowing qualifying customers to have 50 percent of eligible debt, outstanding as of 31 January 2025, written off.

Following requests from residents and stakeholders, the municipality extended the programme from November 2025 to January 2026 to provide additional financial relief for households and businesses facing economic pressures.

During ongoing engagements with residents, the municipality received requests from customers whose account disputes had not yet been resolved when the programme closed. Many argued they had been unable to benefit because their cases were still under consideration.

Responding to these concerns, the council agreed to reopen the programme exclusively for those customers. Xaba said the municipality had listened to residents with genuine concerns and urged everyone who qualifies to visit their nearest customer service centre before the programme closes at the end of August. The original debt relief initiative resulted in the municipality writing off approximately R515 million in qualifying debt, benefiting more than 4,500 customers.

Smart meter rollout improves billing accuracy

The council also reviewed the Accounts Management Dashboard Overview Report for the period ending May 2026, which highlighted progress in modernising the municipality's water and electricity metering systems. According to the report, the Smart Water Metering Programme has exceeded its annual target by installing 1,865 smart water meters, with another 135 installations currently underway in areas including uMhlanga, Westville, New Germany, Bellair and Amanzimtoti. The smart water meters are replacing ageing conventional meters to improve water consumption monitoring, reduce losses, enhance billing accuracy and ensure fair allocation of free basic water.

The municipality is also expanding the rollout of smart electricity meters, which are designed to address ageing infrastructure, faulty meters, electricity theft and inaccurate billing. The new systems provide real-time consumption monitoring, tamper detection and better integration with municipal billing and vending platforms.

The report noted that around 95 percent of urban water meters are now read and billed using actual consumption data. It also acknowledged ongoing challenges with faulty electricity meters awaiting replacement, which continue to result in estimated billing in some areas. The municipality said it will continue implementing measures to improve billing accuracy, strengthen revenue collection and ensure compliance with legislative requirements.