Performance M onitoring and Evaluation Deputy Minister Obed Bapela said the billing crisis had been allowed to get out of hand by the "slackness of some officials".
Bapela met city officials, including member of the mayoral committee for finance Geoff Makhubo, earlier in the day to discuss the problems in Johannesburg's billing system.
Makhubo said the city will attempt to resolve about 66000 queries by the middle of the year.
The city promised that queries or complaints lodged after October will be treated as "new queries" and will be resolved in 30 days.
Bapela said the meeting with the city officials had been prompted by thousands of calls to the presidential hotline.
"We're servicing the people of Johannesburg and these are human beings. We must change the perception that the government doesn't care about you."
City officials appeared before the National Consumer Tribunal last month to appeal for the scrapping of 45 compliance notices after being fined for failing to end the billing crisis for months. The fines ranged from R200000 to R1-million.
National Consumer Commissioner Mamodupi Mohlala issued the compliance notices because of the gravity of the complaints.
Disgruntled residents approached Mohlala's office at the beginning of April.
The R580-million computerised billing system, dubbed Project Phakama, which the city launched in 2009, has proved to be ineffective. It was introduced to help the city recover billions of rands it is owed by businesses and its 1.1 million households.
Bapela said yesterday that residents would do well to pay their bills while the issues were being resolved to avoid costs accumulating.
He would not reveal which other cities or provinces would be visited, but sai d that the Free State was one province that troubled the government.
"With the issue of the bucket system, which was profiled about two years ago ahead of the local elections, we want to see progress there so that by 2014 we're able to say that there's no longer a bucket system."
DENIALS: WHO SAID WHAT
January 23 2011: Then Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sicelo Shiceka intervenes in the billing crisis. He said he had been a victim of the "mess" when he lived in Johannesburg.
"I'm looking at making a law that billing and revenue collection become a national matter to be taken care of by agencies like SARS [SA Revenue Service].
"The billing system in Johannesburg has been a serious problem. The situation there is not getting better ... that situation can't be left unattended."
January 26 2011: Then mayor Amos Masondo tells a press conference, when asked if there is a billing crisis, and why Shiceka intervened: "There is no crisis and I would not like to speak about the minister at this press conference. We have high regard for the minister . and we will continue to work with him to ensure that the work that was supposed to be done is done properly."
March 10 2011: Then city manager Mavela Dlamini, who is now transport MEC Ismail Vadi's head of department, sacks revenue head Vicky Shuping and reassigns her to manage "special projects". Then Joburg Water managing director Gerald Dumas replaces her.
June 27 2011: Newly appointed mayor Parks Tau, who was previously a member of the mayoral committee for finance and responsible for revenue collection, insists that the city has dealt with almost all the billing complaints [52000 of 65000 queries]: "I want to give you the assurance that we are well aware of the issues that need to be addressed."
July 25 2011: National Consumer Commissioner Mamodupi Mohlala announces that she will slap Joburg with compliance notices relating to 50 of the 200 serious billing complaints her office has received.
November 22 2011: New city boss Trevor Fowler makes more promises, saying the crisis will be resolved by "mid-2013". - Amukelani Chauke
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