Slow return to normal for City of Johannesburg as service centre reopens

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) MMC for Finance, Jolidee Matongo has announced that revenue-generating services are to be resumed. This, she said, was in line with the directive issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).

The Sandton Customer Service Centre in Sandown – the first of eight centres to reopen across the City – resumed operations on 19 May.

“The municipality is adhering strictly to the prescribed Disaster Management Regulations and the COGTA guidelines. The same will be expected from all those entering our customer centres,” said the MMC.

The centre was deep cleaned and disinfected prior to reopening, while Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as soap, sanitiser, gloves for cash-handling staff and thermometers to ensure all staff returning were screened had been supplied. Rules applying to social distancing, wearing of cloth face masks, hand sanitising and screening at entrances would be enforced at all times. The MMC added that the precautions would be monitored by the City’s Covid-19 healthcare workers who had also trained staff on how to keep safe in the work environment.

MMC Matongo, who visited the centre to check that it was adequately prepared to reopen, said the centres being opened from Mondays to Saturdays were category A facilities which offered municipal services including meter readings, account adjustments and resolution of queries, amongst others.

Municipal account payments could still be made by electronic fund transfer (EFT), automated teller machine (ATM) or telephone banking as well as through third parties such the Post Office and Easy Pay in various retail stores including Pick n Pay, Shoprite, and Woolworths.

MMC Matongo said the customer centres would also facilitate payment arrangements for people and businesses in financial distress as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown in a bid to boost revenue collection efforts after a significant drop was recorded in April 2020.

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