The burden of municipal services

Impoverished households in South Africa are spending a quarter of their income on municipal services plunging them further into poverty.

That’s according to the Public Affairs Research Institute which has released a report detailing the provision of basic municipal services to low-income households.

It shows that with water and electricity tariffs skyrocketing over the last few years poor households cannot afford to pay these costs.

The institute’s senior researcher Tracy Ledger says the system needs to be rectified.

(PHOTO: Flickr)