I am writing as a resident of Fochville to request that the mayor of Merafong address the serious and ongoing problems we face with our municipal accounts. It has now been two years since the municipality changed from the old billing system to a new one, and ever since, residents have been struggling with numerous and repeated account issues. We were promised that there would be an office in Fochville to assist with account problems, and while such an office does exist at the civic centre, it is largely non-functional. They cannot print accounts because their printer is out of order, and they are unable to correct the constant errors in meter readings. These incorrect readings result in exaggerated and unfair charges for both water and electricity.

Even though many residents, including myself, submit accurate meter readings every month via email, the accounts we receive still reflect incorrect information. It is unclear whether this is due to negligence or deliberate mishandling, but the result is the same — frustration, confusion, and financial stress for residents. Furthermore, we do not have online access to our accounts, and if the Municipality fails to email them, we simply do not receive them at all.

Yet these same inaccurate accounts are treated as binding legal documents, with threats of disconnection if payment is not made by the due date — even though:

• Accounts are not delivered on time,
• They are incorrectly calculated,
• Emails requesting corrections go unanswered, and
• Local offices in Fochville cannot resolve the issues, forcing residents to travel to Carletonville — often to stand in long queues, only to leave without proper assistance.

In October, for example, I received my account on October 10. After identifying several errors, I immediately wrote to the mayor, the municipal manager, the financial manager, and the relevant accounts official. To this day, I have received no reply.

Then, on October 22, I checked online and found that a new version of the same account had been uploaded — with figures different from those on the version I received earlier in the month. This raises serious questions. Will Merafong ever get the accounts right again? Why do residents not receive feedback on their written queries and why is the person responsible for entering the incorrect data month after month still in that position? Residents of Fochville and the broader Merafong area deserve honest answers and a functioning billing system. I sincerely hope this matter will receive attention through your publication so that accountability and service delivery can finally improve.

Municipality responds:

1. The municipality relies on the customers to update their records with a valid e-mail address to be used to forward their monthly accounts. The postal services can no longer be relied on deliver municipal accounts. The Municipality also maintains an online portal cab holding where consumers can register and be able to access their municipal statements/accounts on the below link: CAB PDF Repo System
2. The calculations of charges on consumption services is based on readings which the municipality collects on monthly basis, where readings used to determine charges on a customer statement are higher than what a customer has on their physical meter, consumers may visit the municipality’s deviations offices with proof of readings to have their accounts adjusted.
3. Picture readings may be submitted directly to the meter readers in cases where meters are inaccessible behind locked gates during the day to the below details: WhatsApp: 072 557 2036/073 670 4126 E-mail:[email protected]
4. All e-mails relating to queries on accounts are attended to , they may not necessarily all be responded to due to the high volumes but the corrections that need to be done are reflected clearly on the next statement that gets forwarded to the consumer.
5. The process to have the Fochville office fully operations to cater to consumers is still a work in progress with the biggest hinderance being a stable and reliable network and , there is currently two officials available who do assist with readings and adjustments of customers’ accounts.