POLOKWANE – In line with the decision to introduce electronic billing, as announced by mayor Freddy Greaver during a council meeting in February, municipal bills now have a section that makes provision for residents to update their details.
Municipal spokesperson, Matshidiso Mothapo, said the municipality urged residents to update their details, especially their cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses, so that they could receive their bills in electronic format.
According to Greaver, speaking at February’s council meeting, the new billing system would be fully operational from the middle of the year.
“In the beginning, the municipality will make use of both electronic and printed bills and then systematically phase out the mailing accounts. This will save the municipality and the taxpayer a lot of money,” Greaver said at the time.
Mothapo said the cost of billing residents would be halved once the new system was up and running.
“We often get complaints that printed statements are not received on time or not at all. Electronic billing is environmentally friendly and bills can be delivered and received anywhere,” Mothapo explained.
He added that more and more people were making use of mobile phones to engage in activities like social media and business, as opposed to paper. Therefore, as part of the municipality’s smart city concept, the municipality had to ensure its operations were efficient and environmentally friendly.
Mothapo said electronic payment options were available and ratepayers could pay their accounts by using debit or credit cards.
