
Polokwane tariff increases effective July 1 – Here's what you'll pay
POLOKWANE – Residents and businesses in Polokwane are reminded that the 2025/26 municipal tariff adjustments will take effect from July 1, with increases implemented across water, electricity, rates, and other essential services.
According to the municipality, the adjustments align with national regulatory frameworks and cost increases from bulk suppliers, namely Eskom for electricity and Lepelle Northern Water for water.
The approved increases are as follows:
Water: Block tariff increase of 10.2% to 11.2% , depending on usage.
Electricity: 11.32% increase, as guided by NERSA.
Refuse removal, sewer, and other municipal services: 6% increase.
Rates and taxes: 3% increase for residential, agricultural, public benefit, and public infrastructure properties 6% increase for business, industrial, mining, and non-permitted land uses
The Polokwane Mayor, John Mpe, said the municipality will continue to exercise financial responsibility by not exceeding increases imposed by bulk suppliers.
To support vulnerable residents, the municipality will continue its indigent support programme, which includes:
6 kl of free water
100 kWh of free electricity
100% subsidy on sewer and refuse services
Full property rate rebate
Municipal spokesperson Thipa Selala said applications for indigent support are open at the Civic Centre and all cluster offices.
'To qualify, applicants must be South African citizens aged 18 or older, earning a combined household income below R5 740 per month,' he said.
Required documents include:
Copy of ID
Proof of income
Bank statement (if applicable)
Marriage or death certificate (if applicable)
For more information, contact the municipal Customer Care Centre on 015 290 2000 or visit www.polokwane.gov.za.
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
Two-pot withdrawals reveal debt strain and the evolving role of employee benefits
Workplace financial stress is growing — and Two Pot withdrawal data may be the clearest indicator yet. Employers and HR professionals have typically relied on engagement surveys and exit interviews to gauge employee needs. However, the introduction of South Africa's Two-Pot retirement system offers a new, largely untapped source of insight: fund withdrawal patterns. According to Old Mutual Corporate's 2025 Two-pot Withdrawal Survey, nearly eight in ten employees who accessed the new 'savings pot' did so either to repay debt or to cover basic living costs. Of those surveyed, 45% used the funds to service loans, while 35% withdrew to cover essentials like groceries, school fees, and housing. 'The spike in early savings access is a window into the everyday struggles of the workforce,' said Blessing Utete, Managing Executive at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants. 'When employees are dipping into long-term savings just to make ends meet, it reflects how precarious their financial situations are. 'Two-Pot withdrawal rates present an opportunity to reassess employee support, recognising workers as individuals balancing financial, emotional, and family responsibilities — not just as salary earners.' Utete warns the risk isn't just that financially stressed employees will leave in search of better pay — it's that the ones who stay may be too overwhelmed to perform. 'Debt isn't just a personal issue. It's a performance issue,' he said. 'When employees are fighting just to get through the month, they often don't have the energy, focus, or capacity to deliver their best at work.' The Missing Conversation in the Workplace Despite widespread financial stress among South African workers, employers are still struggling to provide meaningful support. 'While employee benefits strategies often focus on long-term issues like retirement, many employees are grappling with immediate challenges, limited practical solutions, and inconsistent access to financial guidance,' he says. This was a key topic in Utete's podcast, where he discussed how integrated financial wellbeing is often overlooked in the workplace. 'People are expected to take charge of their financial stability — but when the only support they receive is geared towards distant outcomes, it sends the message that their day-to-day struggles don't matter,' says Utete. 'That kind of disconnect erodes trust. Employees start to feel like leadership is out of touch with their reality — and that's when engagement, loyalty, and performance begin to suffer.' Even when employers express an interest in financial wellbeing, workplace initiatives often fall short because they're too generic, too technical and clouded by a lack of cultural relevance — making it difficult for employees to act on what they're told. What a Modern Benefits Strategy Looks Like To address these challenges effectively, Utete says employers need to shift from compliance-based benefits to integrated, human-centred strategies that prioritise immediate financial resilience over abstract future promises. 'If we don't account for that in how we design support structures, we're ignoring the reality of modern working life,' he says. This means that, in addition to offering well-managed retirement and risk benefits, employers should also provide access to relevant, practical financial education and coaching, focused on budgeting, debt literacy, and everyday money management. Innovative debt assistance interventions, such as Old Mutual Corporate's Right Track solution, that helps employers uncover unlawful garnishee orders, unlawful deductions, and curb debt collector harassment. Flexible salary solutions, such as Smart Salary, offer early access to earned wages, allowing employees to responsibly manage their finances before payday and reducing reliance on credit or potentially expensive payday loans. Tools to help employees avoid debt review — which can restrict access to formal credit during the rehabilitation period — and resolve debt challenges without being excluded from the financial system. Integrated health and mental health support, integrated with financial wellbeing where appropriate to promote positive mindset and decision-making Creating a Supportive and Resilient Workforce By focusing on these immediate, practical solutions, employers can begin to address the underlying financial pressures that employees face. This shift goes beyond reactive measures, fostering a more supportive and resilient workforce and ensuring that employees have the tools they need to manage life and thrive both personally and professionally. While the Two-Pot system was introduced to improve long-term savings behaviour, it's now doing something more immediate: providing a window into workforce stress that traditional HR tools have missed. 'Withdrawal rates from long-term savings are a new kind of business intelligence — a signal that tells you who might be struggling and what kind of support your employees need,' concludes Utete. 'Employers who act on that intelligence — by building better, more relevant employee benefits strategy— are not just helping employees save for the future. They're improving focus, energy, and performance today.' our website. About Big Business Insights Big Business Insights is a thought-provoking podcast designed for business leaders, decision-makers, and industry professionals seeking a 360-degree perspective on leadership, employee benefits, and workplace transformation. Hosted by Blessing Utete, Managing Executive at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants, the podcast features expert guests, including Fatima Vawda, founder and CEO of 27Four and Director of the Association of Savings and Investments South Africa, and Mlamuli Mbambo, MD of Money Fundi, a financial education speaker, coach, and author. In the episode mentioned in the article, they discuss the challenges surrounding employee engagement with financial wellness programmes and how employers can address these issues to better support their workforce. DM


The Citizen
2 hours ago
- The Citizen
Sars deducts billions from RAF for ‘Eskom payments' despite court interdict
Claims it had no choice otherwise National Treasury's records 'would not be accurate'. There is no official comment about Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana reportedly having been due to provide 'a certain affidavit' to the court since April. Picture: Moneyweb The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has, despite being interdicted from doing so, deducted R5.07 billion of the R5.1 billion it planned to deduct from the fuel levy payments it makes to the Road Accident Fund (RAF) – the R5.1 billion being the 'diesel refunds' amount Sars has agreed to pay Eskom. This was confirmed on Wednesday by RAF head of communications McIntosh Polela in response to questions emailed to the fund on 13 June. Moneyweb reported on 17 June that the RAF had applied for a contempt of court order against Sars because of its alleged failure to adhere to an interim interdict obtained by the fund in the High Court in Pretoria on 26 March 2025. The interim interdict prohibits Sars from deducting R5.1 billion – or any part of this amount – from the RAF fuel levies it collects and pays to the fund. Moneyweb requested comment from Sars, also on 17 June, about the alleged continuation of these deductions following the issuing of the interim interdict but has not yet received a response. ALSO READ: RAF castigated in high court case, but gets further Sars 'relief' in another Deductions continued Polela said Sars made its most recent deduction on Monday this week, and up to that date (23 June) has deducted a total of R5 072 360 844.85. He said deductions made by Sars to the monthly fuel levy payments it makes to the RAF were made this year on: 20 February (before the interim interdict prohibiting the deductions was issued) 28 March 22 April 27 May 23 June. Sars's alleged non-adherence to the interim interdict emerged in a parliamentary portfolio committee on transport meeting with the RAF on 11 June. Suspended RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo appealed to the portfolio committee to help the RAF with the issue of non-payment by Sars. 'Sars has acted recalcitrant,' said Letsoalo at the time. 'In fact, we have opened a case of contempt of court against them.' He added that, since April, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana is supposed to have submitted 'a certain affidavit' to court on an urgent basis, but he has not done this and 'so they [Sars] keep on deducting the money'. 'Sars is unlawfully deducting our money. I hope this portfolio committee will write to them and ask them because clearly the ministry has not helped us,' he said. Questioned by portfolio committee chair Selelo Selamolela about the issue, Letsoalo said the RAF won its case against Sars, but the tax authority ignored the court order and still deducted the money. He indicated that by then – 11 June 2025 – he was sure Sars had probably deducted R5 billion of the money. ALSO READ: Scopa launches inquiry into RAF misconduct claims What does Treasury say? Moneyweb requested comment from National Treasury on 13 June about Godongwana's alleged failure to submit an affidavit to court related to the RAF's contempt of court application against Sars. Moneyweb also asked National Treasury if it could confirm that Sars continued to deduct amounts from the monthly fuel levy payments it makes to the RAF after the high court interdict was issued – and, if so, for comment about these deductions while an interdict prohibiting these deductions is in place. It responded last week, stating: 'The matter is before the court therefore, the National Treasury cannot comment until a ruling has been made.' ALSO READ: RAF CEO placed on special leave with full pay, as MPs grill fund Original dispute was with Eskom The dispute between the RAF and Sars relates to 'diesel refunds' claimed by Eskom in terms of the Customs and Excise Act. A dispute between Sars and Eskom arose when Sars decided that Eskom was not entitled to the diesel refunds for a period of about 30 months between 2019 to 2021. However, Sars and Eskom then entered into a settlement agreement on 17 October 2024 in terms of which Sars claimed it was obliged to pay Eskom an amount of about R5.1 billion. But Sars only informed the RAF of this agreement on 12 November 2024 – and that it would recoup the R5.1 billion from the RAF levies over a two-month period, which was subsequently extended to five months. Despite the RAF declaring a dispute with Sars in December 2024 in terms of the Inter-Governmental Relations Framework (IRF) Act and the ongoing dispute resolution process in terms of this act, Sars deducted the first tranche of about R1.2 billion from the RAF monthly levy payments. The fund only became aware of this deduction on 26 February 2025. Sars claimed it had no choice but to proceed in deducting/recouping the money because, if it did not, National Treasury's records would not be accurate. This resulted in the RAF lodging its urgent high court application. In a judgment handed down on 26 March 2025, Judge Ronel Tolmay said she was informed by counsel representing Sars that the certificate to National Treasury regarding the second tranche payment would be issued the same day she was hearing the matter. Tolmay interdicted and prohibited Sars from making the deductions, declaring the order operative for a maximum of 45 days from the date of the judgment, or until the dispute in terms of the IRF Act has been resolved. It is unclear when the RAF's contempt of court application against Sars will be heard. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.

IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
SA households drowning in debt, but repayments got a little easier
Discover how the latest SARB report reveals the state of South African household debt and the surprising improvements in financial health, despite rising debt levels Image: Pixabay The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) took a close look at the country's economy and found household debt is now almost two-thirds of what people earn, simply because debts are growing faster than income. But there's some good news from SARB's latest report: the amount you spend on paying off debt, compared to disposable income went down. This is, partially, thanks to a small interest rate cut of 0.25 percentage points in January. SARB also pointed out, in its Thursday release of the Quarterly Bulletin, that the average household's overall financial health improved early in 2025. This is because the value of what people own grew more than what they owe. Specifically, rising stock prices and increasing house values helped boost people's savings and assets. The bulletin also details the performance of various sub sectors in terms of real gross value added (GVA) – which measures GDP without inflationary effects. In terms of economic sectors, that agriculture was a shining star, mining remains in the doldrums, manufacturing continues to decline, while retail, motor trade as well as tourism and accommodation subsectors gained during the first quarter. In addition to subdued demand from the electricity-intensive mining and manufacturing sectors, electricity generation was constrained by breakdowns at several of Eskom's generation units, resulting in the renewed implementation of electricity load-shedding. The contraction in the real output of the construction sector reflected lower civil construction and residential building activity. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The tertiary sector – which includes all kinds of services like banking, shops, transport, personal care, education, and healthcare – grew a bit faster in early 2025. SARB reported that shops, car sales, tourism, and hotels saw improvements, but wholesale trade decreased. SARB also said that 'the expansion in the transport, storage and communication services sector was underpinned by increased activity in land freight and air transport as well as transport support services'. The finance, property, and business services sector also grew slightly in the first quarter of 2025, thanks to more activity in insurance, pension funds, and other financial support services. However, government services and personal services (like hairdressers or gyms) continued to shrink. IOL