The sending out of monthly statements is surely recognised as an acceptable and professional business practice, but apparently not for the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM).
Ever since the VDM took over as water authority from the Makhado Municipality a few years ago, things have gone from bad to worse. For some months now, residents have been complaining that they are no longer receiving any account from the VDM.
Upon closer inspection it would seem that not only the VDM's accounts department is in shambles, but also the department responsible for reading the meters.
In a written response to a media enquiry, the VDM admits they are experiencing problems with their accounts department. "As a communicator, I have received complaints of a lack of statements since September," said VDM spokesperson Mr Matodzi Ralushai on Tuesday, 14 November.
The newspaper has spoken to several consumers in Louis Trichardt, however, who say they have been struggling with their monthly accounts since November 2016. In one case, more than once, payments did not reflect and then the consumer struggled for months to have her account rectified.
Another account holder said he has been struggling for the past three months to get an account. This consumer said that he was able to confirm telephonically with the municipality that he owed them R11.47.
A third consumer said that he had not been receiving accounts, either by email or post, since June this year. "I want to make it clear to VDM that I will pay them what they are due, but only if they bill me. If they decide to only bill me six months down the line, then we will have to arrange a repayment schedule because I will simply not be able to pay an arrears account once off," said the consumer.
In all the cases it has become the consumers' responsibility to phone the VDM to get their accounts.
When pressed for more answers regarding problems in their accounts department, Ralushai said that the VDM had taken a serious look into the accounts being circulated. He was not particularly clear about the reasons why accounts do not get sent out, simply saying: "… the appointed service provider responsible for revenue enhancement or billing is busy putting up systems to ensure effective billing systems for district municipality clients." Ralushai said that the accounts issue would be resolved on an urgent basis, but that there were "some delays due to internal processes."
Asked about the impact this billing crisis has had on the municipality's revenue, Ralushai was even vaguer. "Customers will soon get statements, as billing is critical for municipal revenue. The service [responsible for the issuing of bills] is working to resolve this matter," said Ralushai.