Hlabisa revealed that his department has not received any formal complaints or correspondence from the Public Protector regarding the matter.
The City of Johannesburg claims it is unaware of a civil lawsuit worth R89 million filed by residents and businesses over alleged abusive electricity billing practices reportedly under investigation by the Public Protector.
This emerged during a parliamentary exchange where EFF MP Elsabe Natasha Ntlangwini questioned Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Velenkosini Hlabisa about oversight measures regarding municipal billing systems.
Hlabisa revealed that his department has not received any formal complaints or correspondence from the Public Protector regarding the matter.
However, he confirmed that a Presidential Johannesburg Working Group has been established to address the city’s billing challenges.
Presidential working group tackles billing crisis
Cogta is playing a leading coordination role in the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group (PJWG).
Hlabisa said the working group was established following an oversight visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Cabinet.
“The PJWG is giving dedicated attention to, among other things, the billing challenges experienced by the City of Johannesburg,” Hlabisa said.
The Gauteng Cogta department consulted with the City of Johannesburg to provide information that informed the minister’s parliamentary response.
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City’s measures against unlawful disconnections
According to information received from the City of Johannesburg, the municipality has implemented several measures to prevent unlawful disconnections and inflated charges.
Hlabisa said the city sends notification letters about outstanding payments, the age of outstanding amounts, and total arrears owed.
The city also conducts the “verification of the status of the resident/client in terms of payments, verification of the stand and exact address to ensure correctness thereof during disconnections,” Hlabisa added.
He said meter readings are checked and verified on-site against previous readings to ensure billing reflects actual consumption for the billing period.
“The residents are also encouraged to take their opening and closing meter readings, which can be used for veracity and in cases of disputes that may arise due to disagreements with the bill transmitted to the resident,” Gauteng Cogta and the city stated.
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Legal framework and regulatory oversight
Hlabisa said section 97 of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act of 2000 requires municipalities to adopt fair, transparent credit control and customer care policies.
These policies must align with constitutional principles.
The act prohibits service disconnections without proper notice and procedural compliance.
“The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) continues to exercise regulatory oversight over
municipal electricity tariffs.”
Hlabisa said all tariff increases must receive approval to ensure compliance with cost-reflectivity and fairness principles.
“Charging consumers unapproved or inflated tariffs is unlawful,” he firmly stated.
Public Protector’s role in investigations
According to the minister, the Public Protector holds responsibility for investigating complaints from residents and businesses regarding illegal billing practices and service disconnections in municipalities.
“The outcomes of such investigations will include remedial actions to ensure compliance with applicable legislation,” Hlabisa explained.
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