The low payment rate in Matjhabeng is a serious cause for concern, and the executive mayor, Thanduxolo Khalipha, has initiated Operation Patala to encourage payment.
Khalipha said it was the responsibility of councillors to encourage residents in their wards to pay for their services to help the municipality to address service delivery challenges.
“Without payment for services, it is difficult for the municipality to render quality service delivery.
“Councillors will be required to have a database of all households’ employment and unemployment status in their wards,” said Khalipha, adding that those who are not paying for their services are sabotaging service delivery.
He said the municipality would reload Operation Patala for an effective cut-off of water in all the suburbs, including townships. He added that unregistered indigents would suffer the same fate as payment defaulters.
“Those who qualify as indigents must register for free basic services and those who can afford to pay for their services are encouraged do so immediately”, he said, pleading with indigents who are receiving free basic services to not abuse these services.
It was also resolved in a meeting that prepaid water and electricity meters be prioritised for households for the municipality to deal with non-payment.
“We need to prioritise the installation of prepaid meters to also instil discipline among consumers,” said the member of the mayoral committee for finance, Hlobohang Mokhomo, at the meeting.
Councillors also complained about the delay and non-collection of refuse in Matjhabeng.
The issue of deliberate sabotage of the fleet and time wasting to make way for overtime will be investigated.
They also said this practice needed strong supervision and decisive management to be solved.
Municipal Manager Zingisa Tindleni said despite constant sabotage and vandalism to municipal property, the administration was doing its utmost best to improve on all the challenges raised in the last meetings, such as burst pipes, leaking water meters, sewage spillages, the demand for high-mast lights, the need for speed humps to be constructed and the urgency for storm water and drainage systems to be cleaned.
