THE City of Joburg deducted more than R7million from the councillors and permanent employees’ salaries, who are behind on their municipal bill payments.
The City also collected an additional R5.2million from councillors and employees’ direct payments.
In a clear demonstration that the City is serious about collecting the debt owed to it – even from its own employees, the City is aggressively enforcing relevant legislations and its Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy to collect the outstanding debt.
Out of a total of 13 323 employees who owe the City, about 140 of them are councillors and 13 183 are staff members.
Councillors collectively owe the City about R3.1million in overdue municipal services, while the management – which includes levels like chief executives, heads of departments, directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, and supervisors amongst others – owes a combined R9.8million; and the rest of the R76.3million debt is owed by the rest made up of junior staff.
Kgamanyane Maphologela, Director of Customer Communications for the City’s Group Finance Department, says the City’s employees are expected to be the first ones to promote and implement basic principles of public administration.
“The credit control action that is taken by the City against its own employees is to demonstrate that we are coming after anyone who owes the City in unpaid municipal bills. It’s a firm demonstration that our Credit Control policy is enforced indiscriminately including against our own employees, whom we expect to be exemplary in their conduct,” says Maphologela.
Maphologela says a lot of the owing staff have since entered payment arrangements with the City.
According to Maphologela, the City had to be strict and apply the Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 against those employees in arrears to the City with their municipal services.
Maphologela says Section 10 of Schedule 2 of the Act states that “a staff member of a Municipality may not be in arrears to the municipality for rates and services for a period longer than three months, and a municipality may deduct any outstanding amounts from a staff member’s salary after this period.”
Maphologela says the City is doing all in its power to chase after municipal debt, as this heavily impacts on service delivery.
Maphologela warns that in the next coming weeks and months, the City will intensify its Credit Control drive across the City in a bid to collect outstanding revenue from all different categories of property owners.
Maphologela encourages all property owners who are struggling to service their accounts for various reasons, to approach the City to avoid being cut off by signing an AOD.
Customers may pay by contacting the City:
e-Joburg Portal: www.e-joburg.org.za
Customers who wish to make payment arrangements can visit any of the walk-in-centres or may contact the City’s Credit Control Department by emailing them on creditcontrol@joburg.org.za
With EasyPay, facilitating a quick payment option at many shops that you visit on a regular basis, including Pick ‘n Pay and Shoprite Checkers
• Direct deposits at major banks
• ATMs
• Internet and cell phone banking
• SA Post Office
• Any Council pay-point (Customer Service Centre) – listed below:
Midrand Civic Centre – 300 – 15th Road, Midrand.
Sandton Civic Centre – 24 Fredman Drive, Sandton.
Roodepoort City Hall – C/o Berlandina and Dieperink Streets, Roodepoort.
Eureka House – C/o Marlborough Street & Rosettenville Road, Wemmerpan.
Lenasia Civic Centre – C/o Rose Avenue & Eland Street, Lenasia Ext 2.
Thuso House, 61 Jorissen Street, Braamfontein
Ennerdale Ext 9 – C/o Katz Road & Smit Street, Ennerdale.
Eldorado Customer Service Centre – 4046 Link Crescent Avenue, Ext 5, Eldorado Park.
Randburg (Civic Centre), Braamfischer drive and Jan Smuts Road, Randburg
