To
Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Performance Monitoring & Evaluation
From
Patrick Sangweni
Subject
Terminated Services and an Inflated City of Johannesburg Account
Date
4 February 2020 2:52 p.m.
Dear Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration,

May I kindly enlist your help on two issues that are closely linked and which have not given me sleep for over many years now, and which I believe are driven by corrupt tendencies within the City of Johannesburg. I have empirical evidence to show that problems that stem from the City's billing practices are more than just due to error, but rather the intention to deliberately inflate certain clients' accounts. The question would be "But Why?" The ripple effect of such inflation is that residents' right to basic services is eroded when the City turns around and use those inflated amounts to cut services.

The first issue is that we currently do not have electricity and City Power has made me feel like the matter is personal. Things have been said to the effect that we will not have electricity for a long time.

The second issue is that my municipal account with the City of Johannesburg is owing close on R1 million at the moment, BUT a big chunk of this amount has been fabricated by the City of Johannesburg over the years, and I can provide empirical proof of this.

If possible, I would be happy that these matters be tabled before parliament.

Before going into lengthy exposition on the issues, may you kindly consider the following:

How would it feel if the municipality's own documents lacked integrity to a point where one, duplicate charges were the order of the day on your monthly statements, two, claims are made of actual readings being obtained or estimated readings being made on meters that were no longer on your property, three, two statements were issued for the same billing month and standard, flat-rated items were charged on each statements, four, billing periods overlapped and correcting reversals are never effected,and the list goes on and on. How would you feel if, after a period of time, you found yourself owing about R1 million to the municipality? How would you feel if your querying these figures is never heeded or does not yield any results? How would you feel if the municipality uses this huge amount as a basis for terminating services such as water and electricity supply? How would you feel if you know, even if the municipality will not listen, that the huge amount that you are required to pay is an amount that the municipality significantly helped bring into existence through various forms of fabrications and flaws in its billing system?

Kindly pardon my many "how-would-you-feel's". It's my way of indication the emotional and psychological toll and trauma this whole scenario has had on me. I have pleaded that services be restored on only a Prepaid basis pending investigation of the matters that I raise, and for which I have documentary proof, but to no avail.

With respect to the first issue, our electricity power supply has been cut off no less than 7 times since September 2019. Within these 7 times, the supply cable has been removed 3 times. Previous reasons for previous cut-off have been the amount owed and accusations that we reconnect the supply ourselves, despite there being reference numbers to prove that this is not so.

The most recent cut-off was initially on the basis that we reconnected the power supply ourselves, and the City Power official, a certain Mr Dlamini, would not even look at reference number CP2477775 when I tried to give it to him. He wanted to know, instead, what the name of the person I was claiming had been sent by City Power was, stating that only he could reconnect our supply because he, and no-one else, had disconnected. In addition, he stated that if he cuts off the power supply for hospitals where people are dying and some are on wheelchairs, and that does not move him, how much more me who still walks on both legs.

Later the reason for this same cut-off changed to a claim that I had connected the Prepaid power supplied to the one half of the pair of semis to the half that had been disconnected due to the municipal debt mentioned above.
All of this is speculation based on the knowledge that I own both halves of the semis. The reason for the cut-off has now changed to include, one, the fact that there are rooms at the back of the main house and two, that we did not buy much electricity in January this year.

Interestingly, these claims are made by people who effected the cut-off from outside the premises, and only got to access the property to see the Prepaid meter and take pictures of it only on my pleading so they would not cut. They went ahead and cut off the supply, anyway, despite the fact that they did not find fault with the Prepaid meter. I would not say they did not find fault with our wiring because the one guy who entered looked only at the meter and took pictures of it. The wiring was never inspected.

It would be interesting to see what they would present if asked to show the "Before" and "After" pictures of an illegal connection as claims were made yesterday that these existed. Accusations are based on on what they say and not on what they found was amiss with the wires in the property.

What I fail to understand is that a man called Collin, from City Power, told me over his colleague's phone at City Power in Booysens, yesterday, that I needed to pay 50% of the R1 million, pay R11000 for connecting the other half of my property from the Prepaid side, and then make an arrangement before the power supply would be restored to any of the two sides.

I do not understand how the restoration of power supply to the side that is on Prepaid electricity should depend on payment being made in respect of the side which is owing. I also do not understand the 50% requirement because I have heard, from the municipal offices in Braamfontein, that the deposit before an arrangement is entered into is an amount from 10% to 30% of the total amount due. This seems to me to be a flouting by City Power of their own by-laws which require that if at fault by by-passing a meter or supplying power without a meter, a Prepaid customer should pay the relevant fine before supply may be restored. What is hugely unfair in all of this is that City Power cannot provide proof of wrongdoing and one is punished based on speculations and word-of-mouth fabrications. It seems what the technicians say is the whole truth all the time, even if without proof.

I have, in essence, summed up the second issue in the "how-would-you-feel" section. Yes, the City of Johannesburg has inflated the total amount due on my account, over many years, to a point where they themselves would probably struggle to determine the exact amount owed, especially given instances of seemingly dishonest billing. I would be happy if services would be restored while the issues I raise are attended to. I would be happy if the amount that I truly owe the municipality were to be determined, not the current figures that are mainly thumb-sucked, so that I make arrangements to pay the amount off. I would be happy if I would only be on Prepaid services so that I manage consumption and I do not fall victim to estimations and inconsistent, flawed billing practices. I would also be happy if as this is done for me, it is extended to thousands or millions others who are in my plight.

It is not that everyone does not want to pay.

I apologise for the lengthy email. Kindly note that I am in the process of finalising the document where I point out ways in which the City Of Johannesburg has inflated my account. The analysis does not go outside the City of Johannesburg's own documents. The aim is to prove internal contradictions, anomalies, flaws, and fabrications in the billing process by focusing on the internal integrity of the documents, these being the monthly statements and a Joburg Water Job Card.

I enlist your assistance for speedy resolution of the above matters.

Kind regards and God bless you.

Patrick Sangweni (Mr)
073 561 0371