“I have so many complaints from residents whose electricity or water has been cut off by the [Mogale City Local] municipality, that I cannot keep up,” councillor Amanda de Lange, the Freedom Front Plus West Rand Leader, told the News this morning (13 October).
“What they are doing is unconstitutional. The law does not allow the municipality to simply cut off someone’s electricity. They need to give two week’s notice,” she added.
Amanda de Lange, the Leader of the Freedom Front Plus in the West Rand region.
This comes after numerous municipal accounts have been reported to have doubled or tripled last month. The cause, according to De Lange, is because of one billing system, BIQ, that was reportedly used illegally, being replaced in order to make way for a new legal one, LIMMS.
But this migration has caused accounts not correlating on both systems.
The News reported on this initially on 28 September after the complaints streamed in.
The News then contacted the Member of the Mayoral Committee of Finance in Mogale City, councillor Farouk Bhayat where he assured that the migration is expected to be complete by the end of November. The Democratic Alliance’s financial spokesperson in Mogale City, Dennis Pretorius, confirms this.
Dennis Pretorius is the Financial spokesperson for the Democratic Allianace in Mogale City.
“The system is far from being fixed, but we are also hoping for the end of November,” he said. He also added that the LIMMS system should actually have been fully active and in place by the end of June this year.
Mogale City now has to pay an extra year’s licence fees to use BIQ as the new system is not ready to stand on its own. Pretorius wondered if LIMMS will cost less than originally planned because it is not fully active from the date it was supposed to be payed for?
As for electricity cuts, Pretorius told the News at the last financial meeting, it was assured that no power cut action will happen. Yet De Lange tells that numerous residents’ electricity have been cut.
If a resident feels their account is wrong in some way, the municipality must investigate and come to a conclusion. And if they plan to cut your electricity, you must receive a notice of their actions 14 days beforehand.
“As for now, I think the municipality should employ a task team that deals with these complaints only,” she concluded.
You might be asking, so what now?
If you need help concerning your municipal accounts or simply need someone’s help, contact your ward councillor. If you do not know who it is, phone 011 660 7813 and ask for their contact details. Alternatively, email amanda.delange@vodamail.co.za.
