The Matjhabeng Local Municipality is intensifying its Operation Patala campaign as part of a comprehensive strategy to strengthen revenue collection and enhance service delivery across all communities.
In a high-level meeting held on Tuesday, 13 May, executive mayor Thanduxolo Khalipha, members of the mayoral committee (MMC), councillors, and senior management resolved to implement bold and targeted interventions. They aim to improve the municipality’s financial position and ensuring the long-term sustainability of essential services for both residents and businesses.
As part of this renewed approach, cut-off notices will be issued to households, businesses, and institutions with outstanding municipal accounts. The municipality will move decisively to disconnect services to defaulting customers including tuck shops, commercial properties, and other entities that continue to withhold payment despite having the means to pay.
A special focus will be placed on employed residents in townships, government and private sector employees, and operators in both the formal and informal economy who are failing to meet their municipal obligations.
To lead by example, all councillors and municipal employees have been urged to ensure that their municipal accounts are fully paid by 1 July. Similarly, tenants in municipal rental stock will be expected to settle their rent in full.
The Municipality is also engaging church leaders, school principals, and School Governing Bodies (SGBs) to address outstanding debts from religious and educational institutions. Formal notices will be sent to government departments, with a clear directive to settle all outstanding accounts by end of June.
In support of this initiative, all municipal departments have been instructed to play an active role in the revenue collection drive. The municipality will further approach the National Treasury for both technical and financial assistance to strengthen its revenue enhancement strategies.
Revenue collected through Operation Patala will be prioritised to pay critical service providers such as Eskom and the Vaal Central Water Board, and to support broader service delivery improvements across all 36 wards of Matjhabeng.
The municipality remains sensitive to the financial pressures experienced by many households and continues to enforce its Indigent Support Policy, which provides 50 kWh of electricity and 6 kilolitres of water per month (free of charge) to qualifying residents. However, any consumption beyond these limits will be billed, and continued non-payment may result in disconnection.
As part of a broader service delivery campaign, ward councillors have been tasked with mobilising communities, promoting a culture of payment, and ensuring each ward achieves a minimum 50% revenue collection rate – a critical threshold for maintaining infrastructure and service delivery. This campaign is a clear demonstration of the municipality’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and good governance. However, achieving sustainable service delivery requires the cooperation of all stakeholders – particularly residents.
