Tshwane Billing Crisis – Residents’ Cries Fall on Deaf Ears

It is disappointing to note that the City of Tshwane has failed to respond to residents’ letter of demand regarding the City’s failing billing system nor has it bothered with attending to residents’ billing queries.

This follows the submission of the residents’ letter of demand and grossly over-estimated bills on 19 August 2021.

Instead of resolving the problem, the Ghost Mayor, Cllr Randall Williams, and his team continue to subject residents to a dysfunctional Billing System whilst demanding upfront payments as well as arrangements to be made with the City, irrespective of the fact that according to residents, the bills issued by the city are incorrect.

Since August 2021, several more community residents’ associations and organisations have approached ActionSA to seek assistance with billing issues. Clearly, the Tshwane billing crisis continues unabated, and the Ghost Mayor cannot sweep it under the carpet any longer.

ActionSA stands ready to provide an alternative to the broken political system that has failed the people of Tshwane. We are assembling a team of South Africans committed to public service and not service of political parties, who have the skills, experience, and knowledge to achieve our vision for a country that works for all its residents.

To address the billing crisis in the City, ActionSA would:

• Immediately institute an internal audit of Tshwane’s billing system to identify systemic inefficiencies and launch a reform programme to address shortcomings;
• Adopt a six-month clemency period on penalties for late payments to ensure that residents do not carry the burden of the City’s billing errors while we fix the City’s billing system;
• Conduct an audit of the indigent register to ensure that it comprises the rightful people who are deserving of government assistance and subsidised billing;
• We will ensure that services are delivered to communities across Tshwane so that those who can afford to pay are encouraged to do so;
• We will partner with relevant stakeholders to eliminate illegal connections throughout the City;
• Institute billing query open days where residents would receive on-site assistance and resolutions to their inaccurate bills. This project experienced wide success when implemented in Johannesburg under former Mayor, Herman Mashaba, and ActionSA President; and
• Further capacitate the billing department with professional, customer-centric staff subject to strict performance management protocols to ensure that billing queries are responded to swiftly and professionally.

The City of Tshwane must with immediate effect also cease its 60:40 rationing of prepaid payments. When a resident is perceived as to owe the city, the city imposes a 60% debt servicing fee on any prepaid power bought by the resident without any consultation. Only 40% of the prepaid amount is credited to the resident.

ActionSA stands ready to serve all residents of Tshwane. We intend on getting the basics of service delivery right, fixing the billing crisis, and indeed, fixing the City of Tshwane.