Pretoria – The City of Tshwane has announced that it will take drastic steps against those whose municipal accounts are in arrears in a bid to recoup the R6.6 billion owed to it.
The municipality is owed money from residences, government entities, schools, Embassies and businesses in the city.
Addressing the media in Pretoria on Thursday, City Manager Jason Ngobeni said the city had issued 182 623 green notices and 3 548 red notices to those whose accounts are in arrears.
A further 481 summonses have been issued.
“We simply can’t continue to efficiently and sustainably administer the capital city of South Africa if the customers do not pay for the services which they consume. We are undeterred in our quest to recover the billions of rands we are owed and there are no ‘holy cows’.
“We will spare no effort to recover every single cent owed to us,” Ngobeni said
He said the municipality had increased manpower on the ground and had appointed 30 companies to execute disconnections and reconnections. “We have also put our debt collectors on terms to fast-track legal actions,” Ngobeni said.
With regard to the City’s employees who are in arrears on their accounts, the City has begun docking their salaries for their outstanding debt.
“We have been sensitive and humane in our approach. We have explored other ways of helping our employees to avoid disconnections, including encouraging them to redeem their leave credits in order to settle their accounts,” Ngobeni said.
Ngobeni advised that in the event that a debtor is unable to settle the full amount owed, they should visit the municipal offices to negotiate a settlement plan.
The City’s MMC for Finance Dorothy Mabiletsa said non-payment of services impacted negatively on service delivery.
“We have been left with no option but to embark on these drastic steps,” she said.
Smart prepaid meters
Meanwhile, the process of installing new smart prepaid meters in all households, businesses and industries within the city has begun.
The new technology will help the city overcome problems of inaccurate billing and make it easier, simpler and more reliable for consumers to monitor and manage their electricity expenditure and consumption.
With effect from Thursday, the city will be running a campaign on print and radio to encourage residents to register on eTshwane.
By registering on eTshwane, customers will receive statements via MMS and be able to pay their accounts directly from their smart phones.
“When you make a payment via eTshwane, we immediately become aware of your payment and you don’t face the risk of being disconnected,” said Ngobeni. – SAnews.gov.za
