BCM's BILLING SOLUTIONS FOR RATEPAYERS
The campaign aims to solve billing queries, to assist consumers with managing their accounts better, to inform and educate the customers about the metro’s available grant subsidies, to raise public awareness about the interventions of the metro like smart meters and to improve consumer service.
The city has also undertook to visit residents in their neighbourhoods as part of efforts to reduce billing queries.“Since its inception, the smart metering project has improved revenue and reduced queries on accounts,” said city spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya.
He said the cutting-edge technology programme has seen billing enquiries reduced down to 10%.Since the project started, statistics show that the city’s electrify losses have dropped from 22.2% to 18% as at end-February 2022.“Make a smart choice and get connected with a smart meter now.
“Water meters are difficult to read due to vandalism, undetected leaks, difficulty to access property and tempering,” Ngwenya said.The advantages of smart water meters are completeness, accuracy and validity of billing; identification of previously unmetered households or businesses, easier and more timely billing, better monitoring of tempering of meters; online access for consumers to view daily consumption and disconnections and reconnection done remotely.
Buffalo City Metro conducted Public Participation Roadshows on credit control and electricity supply draft bylaws.The roadshows took place throughout the City in June.The main purpose of the roadshows was to allow the people of Buffalo City to actively participate in the making of the laws that govern them as per section 160 (4) of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.Speaking about the roadshows, Siphatho Handi from BCM Legal Services Department said” We are targeting 13 wards that constitute the Qonce area.”
“It must be added further that the public participation process on these two bylaws does not start and end with the public participation roadshows, on the contrary the public participation process started from June 6 to June 30,” said Handi.“In terms of this process people can still access draft bylaws from the offices of the 50 ward councillors, all libraries of the city, all traditional council offices and on the city's website and make their inputs in the forms of written representations or objections,” he said.
Meanwhile, the city also officially launched a Community Safety Forum.The purpose of the forum is to co-ordinate different government initiatives and involve the community in municipal wide safety plans and programmes.The launch forms part of the first 100 days in office programme.The launch took place at Abbortsford Christian Centre, East London.
2023-07-24