By Nangamso Mabindla

The Buffalo City Municipality is embarking on a two-week roadshow, holding a series of workshops around the region to find out just what residents think about the municipality’s credit control and debt collection policies.

The workshops would also be a forum to inform local residents about municipal spending and developmental plans, including how the credit and debt systems operated and why they had to be implemented. According to the Municipal System Act, municipalities were required to adopt a firm policy on both credit control and debt collection.

Buffalo City Municipality communication manager Darby Gounden said the workshops would enhance residents’ knowledge of the policies and eliminate any excuses from residents claiming not to know about the council’s credit control and debt collection policies and procedures.

It was equally important to get feedback from the residents of Buffalo City, she added.

Buffalo City Executive Mayor, Sindisile Maclean added: "I hope that by the end of the two weeks we will have a clear idea about how people feel about these policies."

Community participation was a legal requirement in drawing up municipal budgets and in evaluating various development plans for the region, such as the Integrated Development Plan. "It is not easy to do this in a large municipality like Buffalo City, but we are trying our best," Councillor Maclean said.

The mayor urged people to attend the workshops and tell the municipality’s representatives their requirements and “take ownership of their budget”.

Head of the finance portfolio in the council, John Badenhorst, said the workshops would not only benefit the consumers about these policies but would also benefit those in debt. "As long as those consumers are paying their current accounts, then they can negotiate to pay off their debts over a period of time," Badenhorst said.