Johannesburg - The City of Joburg has admitted its customer service centres are struggling to keep their doors open, after they were reopened for business during the lockdown.
Residents are being asked to be patient during the lockdown.
The member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for finance, Jolidee Matongo conducted an oversight visit to several centres at the end of July following repeated customer complaints about the efficiency of the centres, and admitted the pandemic had impaired its efficiency.
The centres were initially each reopened with 30% of staff capacity being rotated per shift in a bid to revive the revenue collection business of the City in line with the guidelines prescribed by the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The centres have since gradually increased operating staff capacity to 50%.
“Although staff have been fully equipped with personal protective equipment and facilities are regularly cleaned and sanitised, the centres have had to temporarily close several times as a safety precaution each time someone tested positive – resulting in service interruptions and an increased backlog of customer queries,” said the MMC.
“We also wish to appeal to the people of Joburg to practise patience and understanding when visiting our customer centres.
’’We encourage residents who can access our services online to do so, using either email to send queries or our social media platforms to log technical calls, or even use arranged third parties such as retail outlets to pay municipal accounts.”
The Star