The City of Johannesburg is making it easier for residents to access municipal services through its Mobile Customer Services Programme, which assisted more than 2 000 residents during the past financial year. The City currently has over 930 000 registered properties. Led by Group Finance's Revenue Shared Services Centre (RSSC) Stakeholder Engagement Team, in partnership with Social Development Department (ESP unit), the initiative — popularly known as the Mall Campaign — takes municipal services directly to communities through fully equipped mobile customer service points at shopping centres, malls, retirement villages, community halls, and other high-foot-traffic public spaces.
Equipped with laptops, secure wireless connectivity, the mobile teams provide residents with immediate assistance on a range of municipal services, including:
- Checking the status of account queries;
- Pensioner rebate applications;
- General rates rebate applications;
- Extended Social Package (ESP) registrations;
- Water and electricity billing enquiries; and
- General customer account support.
Kgamanyane Maphologela, Director of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement in Group Finance, said the mobile service complements the City's existing Revenue Open Days by making municipal services more accessible and convenient.
“Part of the City's commitment to becoming more customer-centric is bringing our services directly to where our customers are. By taking municipal services into communities, we reduce the need for residents to travel to customer service centres while improving access to essential municipal support," said Maphologela.
Debt Relief Programme Phase 4
Responding to increasing demand from residents, the RSSC Stakeholder Engagement Team has expanded the mobile service to include on-site registrations for the City's Debt Relief Programme (Phase 4).
Approved by Council in October 2025, Phase 4 forms part of the City's broader financial recovery strategy aimed at assisting financially distressed households and businesses while encouraging responsible payment behaviour and improving long-term revenue sustainability.
Qualifying customers may benefit from:
- A 50% write-off of qualifying municipal debt; and
- A 100% waiver of accrued interest and administrative fees.
The application period opened on 1 November 2025 and will close on 31 October 2026.
Between November 2025 and June 2026, outreach teams placed significant emphasis on raising awareness and assisting residents with applications for both the Debt Relief Programme and the Extended Social Package (ESP) during community engagements.
Jabu Dhlamini, Deputy Director: Revenue Stakeholder Engagement, said the initiative continues to make a meaningful impact within communities.
“Between February and June 2026 alone, our mobile teams assisted 1,695 residents with debt relief applications, rebate enquiries, billing support, and other municipal account-related services. These outreach programmes ensure that customers receive assistance where they live, shop and conduct their daily activities," said Dhlamini.
Dhlamini says Regional RSSC Walk-in centres, Johannesburg Water and City Power personnel play a critical role at these outreach programmes.
Among the successful outreach locations were Annie Burger Retirement Village and Cresta Crossing, while particularly strong community participation was recorded at Orange Farm and Pimville Community Halls.
Written by Nkosana Lekotjolo
29/07/2026
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