‘A billing crisis is a crisis’

Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane has criticised the City of Joburg for the billing system mess, saying the council’s handling of the crisis and its ability to collect revenue left a lot to be desired.

She said this in an interview with The Sunday Independent on her State of the Province address, which will be delivered tomorrow,

Joburg has been engulfed by a billing mess that has resulted in thousands of people getting grossly inflated water and electricity bills and others having had their services wrongfully cut off.

“It can’t be right to see a crisis in Joburg and not attend to it in an amicable manner that makes the ratepayer happy and also showed the government to be caring”, she said.

“Joburg should havae done better in dealing with the concerns raised and making sure there is capacity and efficient systems that can deal with the issues raised by the people.”

Mokonyane and the ANC in the province had contradicted mayor Amos Masondo’s earlier comments that the billing problems were not a crisis and, in the process, put more of a spotlight on his leadership.

In August, Masondo was recalled by the ANC’s regional executive committee, which was in turn disbanded by the leadership of the party in the province for its decision.

Mokonyane said she was closely monitoring how the council was dealing with the billing matter.

“Where people raise issues they must be listened to and interventions made… building efficiencies in how government deals with revenue collection must also be done, but not at the expense of the community,” she added.

City of Joburg spokesman Gabu Tungwana said he could not comment on Mokonyane’s statements, because the municipality could not be seen answering back to the highest office in the province.

“I don’t have anything to say on that,” he said.

In her speech tomorrow, Mokonyane will outline initiatives, including infrastructure development and phase 2 of the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP), through which Gauteng will create more than 175 000 “job opportunities” in line with President Jacob Zuma’s employment strategy.

“We are targeting the 50 poorest wards in Gauteng,” she said.

Mokonyane said the EPWP would create more than 88 000 full-time jobs through maintenance of infrastructure, among others.

She said her government was continuing to reduce agencies as part of the corruption drive aimed at curbing double pricing and collusion between service providers and government servants.

This has resulted in the Gauteng Shared Services Centre (GSSC) being stripped of certain procurement powers.

The GSSC is seen as a cash cow for supporters of Gauteng chairman Paul Mashatile, and Mokonyane’s efforts to change its workings have put her in the line of fire.

“It is such an anomaly to have a CEO of a hospital having to wait for someone at GSSC to buy a syringe,” she said.

Meanwhile, North West and Limpopo premiers Thandi Modise and Cassel Mathale delivered their State of the Province addresses on Friday, in which they, too, promised to create jobs in line with Zuma’s call for employment.

Modise, in her maiden speech, promised to change the government of the province, vowing to clamp down on corruption and improve local government.

“Most, if not all, municipalities are known to be struggling to sustain the provision of decent services to their communities… In this regard, stern measures will continue to be taken to stem corruption and maladministration at local level,” she said.

Modise said 244 cases of corruption and fraud had been referred to the Special Investigating Unit in the last financial year, 127 of which have been prosecuted.

“Given the complexity of these investigations and the need for offenders to face the wrath of the law, we intend doing everything within our abilities to ensure that these cases are brought to finality by the next financial year,” she said. Her government would create 10 000 jobs in the next financial year through various employment initiatives, she added.

Mathale promised that his government would create 160 000 jobs, strengthen local government and root out graft.

“We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of employing people based on reasons other than qualification, competence and passion to build an administration that complies with all legal regulations,” he said.

Mathale said his government had blacklisted more than 40 contractors that delivered shoddy and poor services last year.

“We will continue with blacklisting and also begin the process of claiming our money back,” he said.

Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza will deliver his State of the Province address on Friday.

He is expected to touch on the strengthening of local government, among other things, in the wake of violent protests in Ermelo and the killing of politicians in the province. - Sunday Independent