The number of poor or indigent households in the Makhado Municipality is 75 469 or 58% of the total of close to 130 000 households.

An indigent household is one where the earning of the household is less that R1 880 per month or where the members of the household are unemployed. Indigents are entered into an indigent register, which is updated annually.

The municipality has a free basic electricity or free basic energy (FBE) policy, targeted at poor households. A total of 50 Kilowatts of free electricity are given to indigent households on a monthly basis. About 19 340 indigent households in both the Eskom and the municipal licence areas are receiving FBE. The number of indigent households receiving FBE from Eskom is about double the number of those receiving from the local municipality. A further 1 100 households using the solar energy system in areas where no electrical grid exists, receive the FBE subsidy.

All these facts are according to the situational analysis of the municipality’s IDP document.

As for free basic water and sanitation, the document states: “The intention of the municipality’s free basic water (FBW) policy is to ensure that no one is completely denied access to water supply and sanitation as a result of their inability to afford or pay for these services. The recipients of FBW are all metered and billed households within the municipality. The free basic sanitation (FBS) service is targeting all poor households receiving an indigent subsidy monthly. An indigent register is kept and updated annually.”

In the meantime, the basic water charge on the accounts of normal, non-indigent households was raised in July from R18 per household to R78 (an increase of more than 400%). The first six kilolitres of water consumption are still free. The basic sewerage charge increased from R28 to R88 (an increase of more than 300%) and the basic electricity charge increased from R108 to R119 (roughly 10%).

According to the document, a staggering “129 224 households receive free basic water.” The debts owed to the municipality are recorded as just more than R154 million. The new municipal manager, Mr Isaac Mutshinyali, said on 5 September at a media event that a separate database should be made for indigents, and then the debt might reflect differently.

A high percentage (54%) of the population of the municipal area is economically inactive. “This figure can be attributed to the high percentage of the population below the age of 15 years, which per definition renders them economically inactive,” states the document. Nearly 50 % of the population is younger than 15 years. The majority of the population lives in the rural areas, which are also the most underdeveloped.

“The largest percentage of the rural black population between the ages of 15 and 65 years comprises women. This can be attributed to the migration of men for employment opportunities elsewhere,” is stated.