The community of Finsbury together with other residents of Randfontein are fed up with the incorrect electricity billing that forces them to dig deeper into their pockets and pay thousands of rands to the Randfontein Local Municipality (RLM) when they shouldn’t be.
The Herald has published numerous articles revealing that the municipality is overcharging prepaid customers by nearly 2,5 per cent.
According to documentation in the possession of the Herald, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved an 11,03 per cent increase in electricity tariffs for Randfontein for the 2012/ 2013 financial year, but the RLM illegally increased their electricity tariffs by 13,5 per cent.
What this means is that residents of Randfontein are paying close to 2,5 per cent more than they should be.
Despite damning reports on the issue, there has been no word from the municipality about the matter being resolved, although Nersa warns that increasing electricity tariffs without their approval is in contravention of the licence issued to them.
Owing to a series of fruitless meetings with the municipality’s Municipal Manager Mpho Mogale to resolve this, the Ward Two Concerned Residents Committee decided to slap Mogale with a memorandum of demands on 5 November, indicating that if the matter is not resolved soon, they will take to the streets.
The memorandum calls for the municipality to rectify its incorrect billing system with immediate effect and to stop power cuts in the area until the billing system is corrected.
According to Thulani Mazibuko who speaks on behalf of the Ward Two Concerned Residents Committee, Mogale is aware of the problem as he attended a community meeting with residents of the area.
“He knows our concerns, therefore the municipality cannot claim ignorance.
“Residents of this area and the entire Randfontein are continuously being billed incorrectly. We are forced to pay thousands of rands when we shouldn’t be. Should one miss a month’s payment, the municipality is quick to disconnect your electricity supply.
“My question is, will they refund everyone who is being billed incorrectly?
“What we are saying now is that we want changes to be implemented. We want the relevant department to look into this incorrect billing system issue with immediate effect and if they fail to do so, we will be forced to embark on protest action,” says Mazibuko.
The Herald has left voice messages on Mogale’s cellphone but there has been no feedback from him.
In the meantime, the Herald has contacted Randfontein Local Municpality spokesperson Lucky Chiya who says not everyone in Randfontein is billed incorrectly.
“Those who are experiencing this problem can come to us so that we can investigate their accounts.
“We simply don’t want to use a blanket approach with regard to this because what happens with one resident’s account does not necessarily happen with another resident’s account,” says Chiya.
Watch this space as the story develops.
