Tshwane chief of staff, Jordan Griffiths says the city has made progress, in addressing the billing crisis. After a number of complaints from unhappy residents complaining about the city of Tshwane’s municipality’s water and electricity billing mechanisms.

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane made an investigation and released a report of her findings on Friday. The report points out some shortcomings from the City of Tshwane, confirming the allegation that the city billed consumers irregularly for water and electricity, based on estimated consumption due to its failure to take meter readings regularly, where partly authenticated.

Mkhwebane said that the estimation of water meter readings by the capital has also been a bone of contention for unhappy residents. “The investigation revealed that the City of Tshwane employs its own meter readers and when funds are available it also engages private service providers to read meters. However, due to budget constraints, the current budget for private contractors, was not approved,” Mkhwebane said on Friday.

The Public Protector called on the City of Tshwane to review its water and electricity billing mechanisms on Friday. The City of Tshwane responded to say they have conducted a study and is already in the process of implementing recommendations made by Public Protector, in a report.“It’s very easy to very quickly compromise the city’s finances, it takes far longer to stabilize them once they have been compromised but that is what we are doing, and we are well on our way to stabilize the city’s finances.” Tshwane’s chief of staff, Jordan Griffiths

Executive Mayor Randall Williams has started an aggressive rollout of prepaid meters because it not only leads to more stable readings but also leads to more stable revenue collection and assists the city with debt management.