Traffic cops could form part of ELM’s revenue collection plan

Moreover, traffic officers could soon be turning up at your home and workplace to help recover some of the estimated R5 billion owed to the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) by residents and businesses in outstanding accounts. Roadblocks will then not only deal with traffic and roadworthy matters but also with getting you to pay any outstanding municipal accounts from lights and water to rates.

That’s if proposals in this regard – now under consideration by ELM – are accepted and implemented, according to ELM spokesperson
Makhosonke Sangweni.

Sangweni has remained tight-lipped on any such initiative but did confirm that ELM was looking into using traffic police to play a role in the cash-strapped municipality’s credit control and management strategy.

“We are looking at a range of additional credit control measures to increase ELM revenue collection and revenue security, and the possibility of using our traffic officers to reach more debtors in various locations and during roadblocks is being looked at,” said Sangweni.

More stringent and innovative credit control measures by ELM to dramatically enhance revenue collection and collection rates are now being demanded by the National Treasury as part of the R6 billion debt relief granted to the municipality for its Eskom debt.

But the focus of ELM’s credit control efforts is now addressing a persistent culture of non-payment for services in Emfuleni over the years – also a factor that concerns the National Treasury, according to documentation in possession of Vaalweekblad.

ELM is not alone in considering using traffic police to bolster revenue collection. The Johannesburg Metro is also reportedly considering using its Metro Police to enhance the collection of outstanding debts.

Enhancing revenue collection by means such as installing smart meters is also a requirement of the National Treasury debt relief programme for ELM.

Vaalweekblad spoke with well-known local lawyer, Mr. Contacted Henk Scheepers, to get his opinion from a legal aspect. This is his answer:
“In both the collection of outstanding fines and overdue municipal accounts, there are legal processes which in terms of certain
legislation must be complied with.

“Emfuleni will only further expose themselves to claims if they want to apply the intended methods of collecting the fees.

Their actions will be unlawful and it is strongly recommended that they first obtain a properly researched legal opinion before they wish to continue with such actions.

In the past, collections were made very effectively, in the legally prescribed manner, against residents and businesses for outstanding municipal fees.

However, it was unilaterally and summarily stopped by Emfuleni due to the fact that it was politically disadvantageous and by that they themselves created the culture of non-payment as there were little or no consequences if bills were not paid”.