INSIDE: AUDITOR-GENERAL SPEAKS ON CHRIS HANI WATER ACCOUNTS

THE failure of the Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) to send out water accounts was highlighted by the auditor general (AG) in a meeting on Wednesday.

The Rep reported (Action on Accounts, October 28 2016) that meetings to address water account queries with residents did not go as well as expected.

CHDM, which received a qualified audit opinion, continued to experience problems with the printing of accounts, did not send out accounts or address queries over tariffs, and the meter reading issue was unresolved.

This had been ongoing since the district authority took over the function from Lukhanji Municipality in 2013.

Senior manager of the AG’s office, Caryn Boettger said the water accounts issue needed urgent intervention from municipal management.

“There is a lot of non- compliance with revenue management, which indicates that the management of water revenue is not done at the correct level.

“You need to complete your data cleansing to ensure only valid debtors are recorded on the system and that accounts are prepared and communicated to customers on a monthly basis,” Boettger said.

“You need to give your customers a statement .. . [otherwise] there is a high risk that they will not pay.”

Her advice was to hire an expert to deal with the crisis.

“Our suggestion is that you ensure all water meters are in working condition and all billed water distribution points have a meter.”