A report co-authored by OUTA’s JoburgCAN initiative found that the City of Johannesburg gets enough funding from National Treasury to support 1.1 million indigent households, but only 12% of them receive it. So where is the money? 

JoburgCAN, an initiative by OUTA in partnership with the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), has released a report examining the state of Free Basic Services (FBS) in the City of Johannesburg (COJ) and its effect on service delivery.

The City receives an equitable share grant of R7.572 billion for 2024/25, primarily intended to fund basic services for indigent households. In 2022/23, City Power registered 45,000 indigent households, including 6,106 in Eskom-supplied areas. By 2024/25, the City’s budget indicates an increase to 130,000 households on the indigent register, with 55,563 receiving 50kWh of free electricity each month. While all households are provided with 6 kilolitres of free water monthly, including those on the indigent register, this detail appears to be missing from the City’s financial documents.

Read the press release here

The full report can be read here

Read more about JoburgCAN here