VANDERBIJLPARK. – “The use of estimates by the Emfuleni Finance and Revenue Department in their monthly billing system has reached extortion proportions!” This comes from Councillor Peter Verbeek, DA Shadow MMC for Local Economic Development.

He says the use of monthly estimates as to electricity and water consumption is spiralling out of control. “Residents are being billed erratic amounts as to their monthly consumption of electricity and water. Residents report that from one month to another, they are suddenly billed many thousands of rands worth of consumption based on estimates. This is leading to more and more residents receiving Emfuleni municipal warning letters as to arrears and subsequently as to possible pending electricity disconnections. Residents are indicating final amounts of hundreds of thousands of Rands sky rocketing in the ensuing months,” says Verbeek.

He says it seems that the Finance and Revenue Department is deliberately using this harassment technique to attain monthly revenue streams.

“This is a dangerous strategy that could backfire ugly and leave the municipality in an even worse perilous financial state than at present. Once actual meter readings are conducted, the municipality will need to amend billing accounts. Giving residents credit is not a problem as long as it entails only a few residents. However, the billing nightmare is years in the making with both Emfuleni political as well as administrative leadership enhancing the situation by refusing to engage with residents to date. If, on a large scale, Emfuleni municipality needs to rectify actual residential consumption of electricity and water, revenue streams could all but dry up for a number of months, negatively impacting on service delivery. The pending demise of Emfuleni as a municipality could be complete,” warns Verbeek.

The Municipal Finance Management Act states that the Municipal Manager, as the Accounting Officer of the municipality, must manage the financial administration of the municipality (Sections 62 to 65 of the MFMA). Verbeek says the indiscriminate and erratic use of estimates will not assist in this regard.

“In other words, The Municipal Manager, as Accounting Officer of the municipality is deliberately steering this municipality to a financial abyss. As administrative head of this institution, the Municipal Manager has clearly allowed this disastrous situation to gallop away from his control.”

The Democratic Alliance calls on the Municipal Manager, as Accounting Officer of the municipality, to commence with large scale actual meter readings of electricity and water consumption of residents. “Let’s get to the real amounts that residents owe the municipality. No more use of estimates,” is the DA’s demand.

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