Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the DA, I hereby wish to give notice that on the next sitting day of the Council I shall move:
That the Council notes that -
1) households countrywide paid 46% more for municipal services last year compared to the previous year;
2) the highest increases were in the Limpopo province, at 150%; Mpumalanga, at 145%; the Eastern Cape, at 121%; the Northern Cape, at 80% and the Free State, at 60%;
3) these percentages are based on the latest figures from National Treasury, compiled from reports received from various municipalities;
4) the amount owing to various municipalities has increased from R56,3 billion to R62,3 billion over the previous year, an increase of 10,6%;
5) in the poorer residential area of Madadeni in Newcastle, for example, where the average resident earns less than R5 000 per month, the prepaid electricity and municipal rates come to more than R1 000 a month.
6) the outstanding debt is increasing by R9 million every month in Newcastle and the total outstanding debt currently amounts to R642 million; and
7) this is a poor state of affairs for the poorer municipalities and service delivery continues to just get worse, whilst the municipal residents who can afford to pay, get fewer and fewer.