The eThekwini Municipality said it intends to improve meter bypassing crackdowns once a meter sweep contract is active. The municipal billing report for April 2026 came under criticism at June's municipal council meeting.
The reality confronting eThekwini is that a population estimated at approximately 4.5 million people is effectively sustained by only 556,000 rateable properties, of which 483,000 are residential properties.
Andre Beetge, eThekwini DA councillor, criticised the billing report statistics for the month ended April 30, 2026, at Thursday’s council meeting.
Beetge said approximately 327,000 residential properties exceed the R350,000 threshold and are therefore considered billable for property rates.
“This means that the municipality's financial sustainability increasingly rests on a relatively small base of compliant, paying households and businesses, while inefficiencies, losses, and poor revenue management continue unchecked,” Beetge explained.
