OPINION | Joburg committed to efficiency, getting value for money

“A capable state must start where people live and work,” exclaimed President Cyril Ramaphosa during his state of the nation address (Sona) in February.

A lot of focus by the president and the national government has been on local government. Following soon on his words after his Sona speech, the president visited Johannesburg, amplifying how important the city and local government is in building a capable state. The visit by both the national and provincial governments underscored the importance of Johannesburg as still the economic powerhouse. 

Building a capable state starts with acknowledging that if local government works, then the country works. It speaks to building internal capacity in municipalities, reinvesting in basic infrastructure development, looking into the funding models of municipalities, stabilising finances, improve revenue collection and getting value for money. 

Johannesburg, like many other municipalities across the country, faces similar challenges of limited funds, revenue collection in the face of many households struggling to service their municipal debt and stubborn unemployment. This has negatively affected the ability of municipalities to reinvest in new infrastructure development.

The City of Johannesburg has heeded the call to build a capable state. The metro is spearheading a strategy and plan to reduce reliance on service providers by building internal capacity, prioritising efficiency and getting value for money for residents. This strategy will enable the city to build the necessary capacity to ensure that we have internal capacity to collect the much-needed revenue which will be reinvested towards service delivery projects and infrastructure.

The city is intensifying its efforts to evaluate its debt collection strategies to ensure efficiency, compliance and effectiveness in revenue collection. Part of this evaluation includes assessing the performance of service providers in the revenue collection value-chain.

While the city is still committed to working with the private sector in revenue collection, what is paramount for the city is to ensure that it gets value for money for services rendered. Residents of the city also want to see value for money from the rates they pay to the city.

By evaluating the performance of service providers and ensuring that funds are spent efficiently, the city is reinforcing the principle that public money should always be used in the best interests of the residents. These measures should also allow the city to invest in skills development of its workforce, technology and infrastructure to better maximise revenue collection strategy.

One of the most successful technological interventions is the introduction of a self-help website dubbed e-Joburg. Through the e-Joburg website, the city has been able to bring efficiency to property owners while optimising revenue collection. To date, more than 300,000 residents have registered on the self-help website and are transacting with the city online.

The e-Joburg platform allows residents to view their municipal statements, pay accounts and manage their accounts independently in the comfort of their homes, office or wherever they find themselves.

The platform has grown to include features such as the ability for residents to upload their own electricity and water meter readings, apply for payment arrangements should they fall on tough times, all these on a single platform.

It is in the best interest of the residents, business sector and the government to build together a cable city, that is self-reliant and delivers quality services.

While the city seeks to turn things around, businesses, households and government departments also have an important role to play. A capable city requires a culture of accountability, where residents, businesses and government departments also pay their debt while demanding better service delivery.

• Moraka is Group CFO in the City of Johannesburg