Staff Reporter|Published 21 minutes agoNew City WhatsApp chatbot Hello-RITA! is expected to assist qualifying residents with the renewal of rates rebates and indigent grant applications. The City of Cape Town announced the technology this week, adding that it is limited to renewals at this stage. The City said it hoped to expand to a full-service rates rebate and indigent offering."Pensioners, social grant recipients and qualifying indigent residents who’ve been receiving rates rebates and indigent relief from the City must reapply if they have not yet done so. Those who need to reapply or renew will be contacted via SMS or email from this week onwards with the link to an innovative new multi-language WhatsApp chatbot called Hello-RITA! It’s only for renewals, not new applications at this stage," the City said. How it works: The qualifying resident will receive an SMS or email message with their account number from this week onwards. They will be asked to click on the embedded link provided. The link will open to a series of prompts to enable the user to complete the reapplication. The chat is open for 24 hours. Should a user not complete the application in this timeframe, they will need to start over. If they have all of the required supporting documentation available, the application can typically be completed in 30 minutes or less. View a list of the documents required in English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans. To verify the email or SMS received from the City please contact the City’s Call Centre: 0860 103 089. Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel.Cape Argus