By Nangamso Mabindla
IN an effort to avoid confusion surrounding the payment of municipal accounts on Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses, Buffalo City has advised owners to nominate a person to take over the payments once the owner dies or moves away.
According to Mamnkeli Ngam, the City's senior communications officer, this would make it easier for the council to collect debt from its citizens.
Even though the City exceeded its collection targets in the last year, it was struggling to collect arrears from tenants and occupants of RDP houses.
On 1 September the City will pass a policy enabling it to issue accounts to the owners of properties instead of tenants.
However, RDP houses posed a different challenge. "Most people who own RDP houses do not nominate a beneficiary. As a result, when they die someone opens a new account while that of the deceased continues," Ngam explained.
This meant that the City would have two accounts for the same house and would lose money in the process.
"You would get a situation where the owner died and the family stayed in the house and used the services on the deceased's account. They either pay it or they don't, because no one takes responsibility for the account," he said.
There were also cases in which the owner would move to another area and would allow other people to move into his or her house. These occupants then consumed services on the owner's account, and again either paid or not.
"Once people nominate beneficiaries, it will be easy for the City to open a new account for the new owner. This way we will also put an end to the confusion of ownership and billing. We will now bill the right person instead of the previous owner," Ngam said.
In instances where the owner was reported to have sold the house, the City encouraged people to register the change in the deeds office.
"If they don't do that, our records will still reflect the original owner as the owner of the property. The deeds office informs the council monthly of all registered ownership changes within the municipal area."
Source: Buffalo City
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