Pay your account regardless of Post Office strike
A City Times reader has accused Ekurhuleni of contravening the city's own by-laws, after his complainants electricity was cut, due to a short payment on his account.
Mike Bertolani said he made an estimated payment on his account, as he had not received a statement due to the postal strike.
“So, in the absence of these accounts and being a reasonable citizen, I decided the right thing to do was to pay the same amount to Ekurhuleni as my previous payment,” he said.
“I know that I could have called them and got the exact amount owing if I had the time and patience to hang on the phone for an hour.
“Anyway, this assumed amount was obviously not enough, possibly due to another increase, as the lovely fellows of the municipality cut my supply, which I think is very unfriendly of them.”
The frustrated community member questioned the legitimacy of being cut off for non-payment.
A section of the Ekurhuleni by-law pertaining to electricity states that “the Council shall have the right to disconnect the supply to any premises if the person liable to pay for such supply fails to pay any charge due to the Council in connection with any supply which he may at any time have received from the Council in respect of such premises, or, where any of the provisions of these by-laws and or the regulations are being contravened, after notice has been given to the occupier. After such disconnection, the fee as prescribed by the Council shall be paid before reconnection.”
The resident said he had not received his notice and asked why he should pay the bill, as the by-laws payments need to be made “after notice has been given to the occupier”.
Ekurhuleni spokesperson Themba Gadebe said the South African Post Office strike is regrettable, but does not exclude members of the public from making late or no payment at all.
He added that the fact that there is a strike is immaterial, as the statements have been issued by Ekurhuleni, although they might not have reached the intended recipient.
Gadebe said the postal strike is an issue out of the municipality’s control and urged residents to make use of other options to view outstanding monies.
These include:
- visiting the Customer Care Centre or outlets identified on the back of statements;
- viewing your account online at www.e-siyakhokha.co.za;
- emailing account numbers, including contact details, to accountenquiries@ekurhuleni.gov.za;
- Predating payments online.
