Nzuza tasked with RMS mess
Independent body to look into scourge of billing errors that continues to outrage ratepayers
TO CURB the scourge of continuous billing errors that have outraged ratepayers across the city, ethekwini mayor Zandile Gumede has tasked city manager Sipho Nzuza to appoint an independent body to look at the city’s Revenue Management System (RMS), which was implemented recently.
City Watch has had numerous complaints from residents about billing errors since the new system was introduced.
During the municipality’s executive committee meeting this week, Gumede said she had personally received a number of calls from residents.
“This appointment of the independent body will be functioning while the central complaints hotline is being finalised,” she said.
“Complaints and concerns need to be processed professionally… I cannot deal with individual queries.
“By appointing an independent person or body to look at the RMS, we can deal with this properly,” Gumede explained.
The common issues raised by residents were incorrect billing, wrong details and pensioners’ rebate issues.
The mayor said the body would allow the executive committee to ensure proper checks and balances were in place.
A concerned ratepayer from Chatsworth, Yugen Moodley, found several discrepancies in his most recent bill, and said the shortcomings were indicative of the revenue department’s incompetence.
“Firstly, the call centre seems to have crashed because I cannot get through. That must be due to the large number of complaints entering the system,” he said.
“The city spent several hundred million rands of ratepayers’ money on a new billing system that seems to be flawed. Now we are receiving incorrect bills – why change the billing system?”
He recalled a recent error: “My average monthly water usage has been R300, but a few months ago, I was billed R4 843,49.
“Every month, without fail, a water meter reader enters my property to capture readings, so I cannot understand estimated readings.
“This system and the bills have caused undue stress, especially for the elderly,” said Moodley.
Ray Lavarack, a pensioner from Sherwood, also had a bad experience with the city revenue department. He said the department had no proper communication channel to handle complaints.
“Whenever we have issues with our bills, no one responds, either by telephone or e-mail. Eventually, I was informed that, due to a system error, the senior citizen rebate had been omitted, but I must pay the full amount reflected on the invoice and it would be corrected the following month.
“My limited pensioner’s budget does not allow for unexpected hikes due to the city’s errors.”
Nzuza said he was still going to meet with the internal audit committee to explore cost-effective solutions.
“It is a great concern to residents and should therefore be prioritised. I believe that our internal finance committee is capable of finding solutions.”