Durban - Ratepayer groups in the Msunduzi Municipality have lodged a complaint with the public protector over the billing system in Pietermaritzburg.
The new billing system allows for some residential customers to be billed on the 15th of every month, and the remaining customers, including businesses and the government, will be billed on the last day of the month.
The new billing system was introduced in April, and according to Msunduzi city manager Lulamile Mapholoba, it aims to accommodate customers who get paid in the middle of the month, and those who are paid at month’s end.
In a letter, seen by The Mercury, the ratepayer bodies outline their concerns, and contend that the multiple billing system was rolled out without due consultation.
The civic bodies said the complaint was lodged on procedural and substantive grounds. They cite provisions in the Constitution which state that in order to provide democratic and accountable government for local communities, the involvement of communities and community organisations in local government must be encouraged.
“With respect to this complaint, the municipality imposed a change in the billing cycle without notice and without any public participation process, as envisaged in s152, and elaborated in the Municipal Systems Act no 32 of 2000 Chapter 4 (Section 16[1]) on (the importance of) Community Participation,” reads the letter.
The civic bodies in the letter also cited arrogance and contempt for the public among many officials in the municipality when complaints were expressed about the new system, adding that residents had turned to them for assistance.
“There have only been two official public notices regarding the change in billing cycle. Neither was distributed directly to ratepayers and customers, but were largely distributed via social media. Consequently, the municipality cannot claim that it notified all affected ratepayers and customers of the change in the billing cycle and that they would be charged for a full month of rates, standing charges and consumption (estimated) just two weeks after receiving their last account,” the letter continues.
The civic bodies have made demands which include:
- The immediate reversal of “multiple billing”.
- A genuine citywide public participation process.
- The reversing on any penalties that have been imposed since the system was introduced.
Anthony Waldhausen of the Msunduzi Association of Resident Ratepayers and Civics (MARRC) said the response from the Office of the Public Protector, which had acknowledged receipt of the complaint, was an important step in the matter.
Speaking to The Mercury yesterday, Mapholoba said they had not received any notification from the public protector’s office, and they were not worried about its involvement.
“We would rather comment in detail on the matter once we have received correspondence from the office,” said Mapholoba. He maintained that the municipality had done everything by the book.
Recently Mapholoba admitted there had been challenges with the roll-out of the billing system, but labelled these as teething problems.