Service Delivery

CITY ENCOURAGES RESIDENTS TO PAY FOR SERVICES

By Thulasizwe City of Ekurhuleni 608

The City of Ekurhuleni has expressed appreciation to the community of Thembisa for the peaceful protestation this morning (Monday, 16 October).

Residents of Thembisa took to the streets this morning in protest over issues of billing and credit control. The protest was organized by the Thembisa Community Forum. Present to receive the grievances of the community were the Executive Mayor Cllr Sivuyile Ngodwana, the MMC for Community Safety Cllr Sizakele Masuku and the MMC for Finance and EMPO Cllr Nkululeko Dunga.

Speaking after meeting the protest leaders, the Executive Mayor encouraged members of the community to come forward and register for the indigent programme so that they can be assisted with the payment of services.

“While we continue to deal with other issues that the community continues to raise with us, we encourage them to pay for services so that we can continue to deliver on the mandate they gave us during the elections,” he pointed out.

The mayor’s sentiments were shared by MMC Dunga who made it clear that having listened to the concerns of the community, the city was able to clarify the issue of billing by explaining that 97% of the meters in Thembisa were actually read resulting in actual billing and not interim billing as it ‘was commonly perceived’.

“As The People’s Government, since we came into power, we have written off R12 billion as part of our Indigent Policy Review. We shall also be revisiting the issue of the Debt Rehabilitation Programme to see if it cannot be extended further. We as the Mayoral Committee will work hard to ensure that this report finds expression in the next Council sitting,” he said, appealing to residents to continue paying their accounts while this process is unfolding.

Moreover, MMC Masuku expressed appreciation at the engagement with the TCF and other stakeholders during the day and made it clear that The People’s Government remains committed to fast-tracking service delivery in the city and ensuring that quality and sustainable services are rendered at all times.