2011-01-26: No billing crisis

All queries about incorrect bills have been assigned to special units for resolution and appropriate action is being taken. The customer remains king, says the mayor.
WHILE problems had arisen in the billing department of the City, there was no crisis, said Executive Mayor Amos Masondo at a press briefing this week.

MMC for finance Parks TauCity striving to improve employee accountability: MMC for Finance Parks Tau (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)The mayor was responding to an onslaught of media coverage concerning incorrect billing and electricity cut-offs to some residents and businesses.

“Let me acknowledge that there are those residents and citizens who may have been inconvenienced and negatively affected. The process of credit control and cut-offs are meant to recover all revenue due to the municipality,” he said at the briefing on Wednesday morning, 26 January.

At the same time, the mayor acknowledged that problems had arisen. “In the process of implementation of IT projects of this complexity and magnitude, glitches and other post-implementation challenges do arise,” he said.

He expressed empathy for those who had been incorrectly billed and experiencing problems. The City had identified what he referred to as “inexplicable bills”, but these were a minority.

Parks Tau, the mayoral committee member for finance, admitted that it was not a systems problem but a management problem. The City was striving to improve employee accountability, and appropriate action was being taken against people for negligence and incompetence.

All queries were being assigned to special units for resolution. The billing process went through various checks and balances and bills that shouldn’t have been sent out had been identified and were being dealt with.

“The City will be holding management, individually and collectively, accountable for poor performance, negligence as well as any malicious intent,” said Masondo. “The City will not tolerate mediocrity and poor performance in serving the public. All of us must learn that the customer is king!”

Phakama
Last year, the City rolled out Phakama, a new R580-million information technology system with several aims: to supply a single-service utility for managing the revenue value chain; to be responsible for overall revenue and customer services; to operate a single database; and to give the City a single IT system sufficiently robust to run the integrated and complex operations of the City.

Joburg sends out over a million accounts monthly, in addition to monitoring over 10 000 properties that change hands every three months, while delivering services to residents like water, waste removal, sewer and sanitation, and electricity.

The City's revenue department sends out over a million accounts each monthThe City's revenue department sends out over a million accounts each month“The City of Johannesburg has implemented a number of initiatives to improve the quality of services to the public, with a specific focus on customer service, billing and credit control,” he said.

Masondo indicated that in July 2010, 744 852 customers were billed, but the new system has pushed that number to 1 040 648. “The perception to say that the City’s billing system is not yielding appropriate results is therefore far from correct.”

Some 8 percent of customers registered queries regarding their bills. “We are working hard, toiling around the clock, to reduce this percentage even further.”

In December last year, 13 404 customers were issued with final notices – of these, 8 333, who collectively owed the City R320-million, were cut off after being given 21 days to pay their accounts, and a further 14-day demand notice in which to pay. When they did not respond to this notice they were cut off.

This represented less than 1 percent of the total number of customers billed. Once the accounts were paid, customers were reconnected “as soon as [is] practicable”.

Challenges
The mayor admitted that there had been challenges in implementing Phakama. Besides the billing issues, there had been problems with the interface between the billing system and the Deeds Office. This had led to delays in issuing clearance certificates, which had affected property transfers and refunds.

Masondo stressed that the City’s commitment to putting the customer first was evident in the number of People’s Centres, and in particular, in the Call Centre. “In addition, we also have an open door policy that allows for an ongoing interaction with individuals, business, civil society organisations as well as communities. In doing this, the City seeks to achieve a positive customer experience.”

The 2010 Customer Satisfaction Survey revealed that citizens rated the City’s service above 70 percent. “It is important to note, however, that we have not allowed this to lull us into a sense of complacency. We continue to raise the bar and improve our performance.”

The City has an expanded social package, the Siyasizana programme, which gives relief to indigent individuals and households, in paying their accounts. Those who qualify should register for the programme at their nearest People’s Centre.

To register a billing query, call the Call Centre on 011 375 5555.