MMC asks residents for patience when visiting City’s customer service centres
JOBURG – MMC for Finance, Jolidee Matongo explained that the centres have had to close several times as a safety precaution each time someone tested positive for Covid-19, resulting in service interruptions and an increased backlog of customer queries.
Many businesses have been left struggling ever since the national lockdown was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 26 March.
According to the MMC for Finance, Jolidee Matongo the City’s customer service centres have been struggling after they were reopened.
Matongo conducted an overnight visit at a call centre in the inner city on 28 July before making his way to the customer service centres in Randburg, Braamfontein and Roodepoort.
Matongo’s visit came after the City received a number of complaints regarding the efficiency of the centres.
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“The centres were each reopened with 30 per cent staff capacity being rotated per shift in a bid to revive the revenue collection business of the City, in line with the guidelines prescribed by the ministry of cooperative governance and traditional affairs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The centres have since gradually increased operating staff capacity to 50 per cent,” said Matongo.
He added that although the staff has been fully equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE) and facilities are regularly cleaned and sanitised, the centres have had to close several times as a safety precaution each time someone tested positive for Covid-19. This resulted in service interruptions and an increased backlog of customer queries. “The closures were necessary to allow self-isolation of contacts and the cleaning of facilities ahead of resuming services to protect both the City’s employees and customers,” added Matongo.
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However, Matongo reassured customers that the City is adhering to the lockdown regulations to ensure the safety of its employees and customers. “These include regular testing and provision of PPE for staff as well as strict facility access control where customer are sanitised upon entry and the rule of ‘no rule, no mask’ applies.
“We also wish to appeal to the people of Johannesburg to exercise patience and understanding when visiting our customer service centres. We can encourage customers who can access our services online to do so using either email queries or our social media platforms to log technical calls or even use arranged third parties such ad retail outlets to pay municipal accounts,” concluded Matongo.
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