Media Room

20 September 2012 - The Emfuleni Local Municipality is continuing with service disconnections as provided for by the Municipal Bylaws and the Customer Care, Credit Control Debt Collection Policies.

Council has resolved to enforce and implement these policies, in the quest of meeting legislative compliance as required by both the Municipal Systems Act and the MFMA respectively. The total outstanding debt due to non-payment of bills by consumers has escalated to R2,7 billion.

Consistent with the Municipal By-Laws and Policies, the execution of service disconnection will be a monthly exercise to ensure the collection of monies due to the Municipality for services rendered. Our customers are given accounts at the end of each month and they are expected by a certain date to have duly paid such accounts. Those customers who fail to pay their accounts are then given what we call WARNING NOTICES which basically reminds and afford them an opportunity to make payments and or make representation for arrangements of how the arrears will be paid. Those who fail to respond to warning notices, they are given WARNING LETTERS which will be clear in terms of their debt and on which date the services will be disconnected should they not pay or make arrangements.

We have already started issuing warning letters which indicates our intention to cut services to customers in arrears. Customers who had their services disconnected will have to make payments towards the reconnecting of their services and further enter into a fixed arrangement pertaining to how they intent to settle the debt. Without this, the services are most likely going to remain disconnected. It is our intention to bring back the culture of payment for services in the Municipality.

It is critical to emphasize that failure by communities to pay for services rendered to them derails the aspirations of our people as contained in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the overall strategic objectives and the mandate of local government. The number of businesses and households that are currently consuming municipal services without paying has increased dramatically. The total outstanding debt due to non-payment of bills by consumers has escalated to R2,7 billion.

As Emfuleni Local Municipality, it is our intention to continue and extend the disconnection of service across the Municipal area so as to ensure that we collect all the monies due to us from all our customers. Our customers must understand that we are not doing this for the sake of seeing them struggling without services, we are doing this in order to have enough money to provide the very same services they are not paying for. The Municipality cannot continue avoiding the implementation and execution of these policies if it wants to be sustainable and viable. It costs money to bring services to our communities and customers. Our basic services suppliers such as RAND WATER and ESKOM need to be paid for their services.

Once we are through with the current disconnections at Rustevaal, Roshnee, Ironsyde, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging, we will extend the action to the townships. We will start with households whose debts are R10 000 and above. Later on we will then concentrate on those who are below R10 000 until we get the last outstanding cents due to the Municipality.

We are getting our frontline staff ready and prepared to attend to all queries, payments and or any related matter in both Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging offices. We want to urge customers with arrears to visit our Debt Management Section at the Vanderbijlpark Municipal Building to settle their accounts as services will be disconnected. The procedure to settle the debt works as follows;

• All outstanding arrears are paid in full or
• 50% of the outstanding debt is paid and arrangement is made to pay off the balance over six months. To enter into this arrangement with the Municipality the business owner will have to provide the latest three months banks statements.

We also want to urge owners of undeveloped or empty stands with long outstanding debts to settle their municipal accounts. If the debt is not settled, the Emfuleni Local Municipality will have no option but to go the route of auctioning such stands to recover money owed to the Municipality.

It is also important for communities to note that, except for the equitable share allocated by the national treasury to municipalities, local government also relies on the revenue collected from communities for the services provided. The acceleration of service delivery and the provision of quality services for a better life of our residents require the creation of a sound, viable and sustainable financial base which can only be achieved through payment of services.

Issued by the Office of the Executive Mayor
Enquiries: Klaas Mofomme
Spokesperson: Emfuleni Local Municipality
Contact: 016 – 950 5309 / 082 610 5718
E-mail:  klaasm@emfuleni.gov.za