There is a dire need to improve the implementation of the indigent policy in municipalities to
assist the most disadvantaged group in the community, the poor. The study focussed on the
indigent policy of the City of Tshwane: challenges and options.
The challenges would render the indigent policy inefficient and would require more
improvement to avoid wasteful expenditure. The indigent policy is implemented through the
identification process, which is the criterion the municipality uses in order to register the
indigents on the municipal database. The municipality is offering a social package as part of the
free basic services. The funding of the programme, which is critical for sustainability, and the
exit programme that seeks to transform the poor into economically independent residents who
will afford basic municipal services.
The study found that the more the indigent register increases in the number of beneficiaries, the
higher the municipal rates become, resulting in increased municipal costs for those who do not
qualify to be on the indigent register. The implementation of this policy is critical yet
complicated. It calls for integration, alignment, and coordinated utilisation of human capital,
financial, infrastructural and technical resources involving other relevant stakeholders.
Strategic interventions must be in place as a way of reducing levels of indigence in Tshwane.
The cycle of poverty needs to be broken. The researcher believes that ongoing implementation of
poverty alleviation programmes, partnership with tertiary institutions for linking deserving
children from poor households, continuous monitoring of the indigent register, assurance that the
registration process correspond with the exit process, continuous monitoring, and periodic
evaluation of the programme should be executed with efficiency and effectiveness