POLOKWANE – Residents took advantage of the promise made by mayor Freddy Greaver to clear his diary on Monday and meet with those who had complaints about their municipal accounts.
This one-on-one session between Greaver and various residents came after months of reports about problems with the municipal billing system published in Review.
Greaver said the decision to meet with residents was a way for the top management structure to ensure that individuals’ complaints received the attention deserved.
“It is a opportunity for management to meet with individual people whose problems are often overlooked when it comes to general council meetings. This session was not meant for ratepayers’ associations or other organisations, but rather for the man on the street to have a voice,” Greaver explained.
By 10:00 on Monday, more than 50 people had already lined up to meet with Greaver. Complaints raised included incorrect billing, being billed for more than one meter and receiving bills long after the service had been cancelled.
One of the complainants, Joseph Mokale, said he was optimistic about meeting with the mayor and having his account problem of the past year cleared up.
Another unhappy resident, Nina Bester, said she had waited the entire morning for nothing. “I work for myself, so no work, no pay but I thought it would be worth it if I could sort out my water account, which is sky high. Ironically the period this astronomical bill covers, is the period during which we had no water for more than a week,” she said.
“Unfortunately I am still waiting to find out if there is anything that the municipality can do for me,” she concluded.
“However, I appreciate the lengths Mr Greaver has gone to, as well as his professionalism,” she concluded.
Some of the residents still waiting in the line said aside from municipal bills, they also wanted to take the opportunity to talk about infrastructure problems like roads that needed more attention than they were getting.
“It is good to see the new year kick off with the Polokwane mayor making himself available to speak to us.
“It gives us hope, and shows that the municipality is looking into strengthening communication between us,” Johan Keppler, another resident said.
Greaver said he would continue to clear his schedule for a period every week until all residents’ complaints had been heard.
He said ways would be found to ensure that problems are solved.
