Opposition milks Joburg billing crisis

THE billing crisis, which sees residents’ utilities receiving statements that do not match their consumption of water and electricity, has been with the City of Johannesburg for years. And it is one of the rallying points for political parties garnering votes ahead of the local government elections on November 1.

Opposition parties are naturally cashing in on what is seen as the ANC-led municipality’s failures. They say if they gain control of the city council, “inaccurate and incorrect bills” will be a thing of the past.

“We will restore public confidence when it comes to the billing system, and bring back the willingness of customers to pay freely and ensure the municipality is not stuck with irrecoverable debt in the future,” ActionSA national director of operations Funzi Ngobeni said this week.

EFF Joburg regional chairperson Sepetlele Raseruthe said the current ANC administration had no systematic billing system and the scrapping of debt was a viable way to assist affected residents.

Patriotic Alliance (PA) mayoral candidate Ashley Souls said it was time to bail out ordinary citizens rather than the cash-strapped state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

BLF deputy president Zanele Lwana said they have been clear that electricity is a basic right, which must be free for household consumption, and all debts relating to that should be written off. “Free electricity is possible and the government must be transformed to make this happen,” she said.