Joburg claws back R10,000 from defaulting customers in N1 operation

The City of Johannesburg decided to repeat its operation of of last month that saw hundreds of motorists apparently being encouraged to settle their municipal bills after being pulled over by metro police.

City officials again joined the JMPD in a huge roadblock, choosing to engage with customers on their outstanding bills rather than enforce payments.

On Thursday, the N1 highway came to standstill as JMPD and the police conducted a crime prevention operation on both sides of the Malibongwe off-ramp.

They were joined by officials from the city's finance department, City Power and Joburg water entities who were on hand to help residents with their municipal bills.

Cars were stopped at random by either JMPD officers or the police and motorists were directed to a JMPD vehicle to check and settle unpaid fines. Many confirmed that they were also asked if they wanted to engage the city on their bills but they said no-one was forced to do so.

Joburg’s Nkosana Lekotjolo confirmed this, insisting that their role was simply to engage and educate customers on issues about their municipal bills as well as to negotiate payment arrangements with those in arrears. He insisted that no motorist would be forced to settle outstanding bills.

“Our debtors book is sitting at more than R48bn. We are serious about collecting revenue from people who owe us. So once customers check their traffic fines ... you come and check your municipal rates as well. We then bring up your bill ... and negotiate with you [if your account is in arrears] about entering into payment arrangements,” he said.

Lekotjolo added that it was also an opportunity to educate customers about the various programmes the city has for those struggling with their bills. While Lekotjolo confirmed that more than 500 motorists engaged with the city on their accounts, only six customers collectively paid R10,000 towards their bills.

"[Some] motorists engaged said they were happy with the city's initiative and willingly paid their outstanding municipal amounts. No acknowledgments of debt were signed at the roadblock,” he revealed.

The was in stark contrast to the first operation in September, which netted the city more than R100,000 in one day.

TimesLIVE spoke to several motorists who had been stopped and they all confirmed that they had just been directed to settle their fines, if they had any, and merely asked if they wanted to do the same with their municipal bills.

“I just paid my outstanding fines and they asked if I would like to settle any municipal accounts, and I said no,” a motorist said.

While many declined to do so, Barbara Jiang was only too happy to take advantage of the situation by not only settling a R375 traffic fine but also paying R2,000 towards her municipal bill.

“Normally, I get a payment link from the city but last month they didn't send anything so I knew that I had a balance to pay,” she explained.

She too confirmed that she wasn't compelled to pay her bill.

Despite denials by both the city and motorists TimesLIVE spoke to, one did reveal that he was stopped and asked to produce his driving licence. He was surprised when he was also told that his rates were up to date.

The roadblock was followed by an “aggressive credit control disconnection drive” by the city in Randburg, which targeted “residents and businesses which owe the city millions of rand in outstanding bills”.

TimesLIVE