Investigating non-payment of municipal services in eThekwini Municipality.
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Date
2017
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Abstract
The challenge of non-payment for municipal services originated in the apartheid regime prior to 1994, where citizens boycotted paying for services with the intention to overthrow the apartheid government. Non-payment of municipal services was anticipated not to be an issue post 1994 when the democratic government of the ANC took over. However, it has been more than two decades into democracy and yet the challenge of non-payment for municipal services still persists. Have the people become so accustomed to the culture of non-payment that it is difficult to revert into paying? Why is it that municipalities continue to experience increasing consumer debt levels, even in this democratic era? Is there anything that can be done to remedy this situation?
The purpose of the study was to establish the main reasons behind non-payment of municipal services in eThekwini Municipality. It also sought to answer which services are customers likely not to pay for. The study further suggested what strategies can be employed in order to readdress the challenge of non-payment and minimise bad debts in the city. The study utilised the multi-method approach which combined quantitative and qualitative data to ensure depth to the findings. The theoretical and empirical data related to this study were analysed to answer the above questions. The results of the analysis revealed that although some of the reasons for non-payment included unaffordability, incorrect billing, entitlement culture, unsatisfactory service delivery and the unwillingness to pay, it was also noted that the issue of incorrect and estimated billing were the main reasons why the payment rate has declined in eThekwini Municipality. In view of this, it was recommended that the municipality undertakes to improve the quality of its billing systems in order to regain citizens’ trust, thus improving the rate of payment.
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Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.