Shock and disbelief flooded Sangeeth Mohan when he received a text message from the local municipality on Tuesday (May 12) reminding him to pay a whopping R78 351.19 on his account.

Mr Mohan took to social media, asking other Estcourtonians if they too had received the SMS.

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Dozens of locals responded, confirming that they had also received the message with an inflated account balance.
Questions were asked and clarity sought.

Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality has issued a statement today (May 14) acknowledging a “complication from the meter readings gaps”.

Municipal Manager Patrick Mkhize explains: “The municipality has reviewed the issue raised and discovered that the complication emanated from the meter readings gaps. There was a mismatch on the take-on readings caused by incorrect meter numbers uploaded on the meter master file. There are 227 out of 2 2270 meters that dropped the prefix to zeros on the meter numbers master field that imported in our financial system. We are currently working on the 227 meters affected and will rectify the billing thereof. We sincerely apologise for the delays and for any inconvenience caused.”

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