Joburg still stuck in billing mire

25 May 2016 - 08:47 By SHENAAZ JAMAL

The City of Johannesburg is still struggling with its billing crisis, its ombudsman said yesterday. The ombudsman said it had received 807 complaints from ratepayers between the start of the year and the end of April, almost 600 of which were revenue-related.Ombudsman Siduduzo Gumede said he would be tabling a report to council."What I see here is a reflection of what's happening on the ground. It means that there is attention required within revenue in the city. It could be that there is a staffing issue or systems are not where they should be," said Gumede.Most complaints were related to City Power, City Parks and property valuations.The ombudsman also noted that the Cyrildene and Mayfair communities had complained about foreigners constructing buildings in their area without city plans or approval.Member of the mayoral committee for finance Geoffrey Makhubo yesterday announced in his budget speech that the ombudsman will receive an operating budget of R54.4-million and a capital budget of R7-million.But Gumede said he was the only full-time staff member at his office, which had to attend to a city of 4million...

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