KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka today paid a surprise visit to the Msunduzi municipality’s customer centre at the AS Chetty Building in Pietermaritzburg where he interacted with residents who utilise its frontline services, including the billing system.
During the visit MEC Hlomuka was accompanied by the Mayor of Msunduzi Cllr Mzimkhulu Thebolla.
“In order to gain an objective insight into the functionality of frontline municipal services, we are embarking on unannounced visits to various customer interface facilities in the province. We will also be interacting with residents rather than officials to assess the quality of services,” said Hlomuka.
KZN Cogta has been monitoring media reports about Msunduzi’s billing system and the department is now surveying the progress in dealing with the billing and other service delivery challenges in this municipality. Msunduzi is one of nine KZN municipalities currently under administration.
“We realise that the success of our ongoing intervention at Msunduzi will ultimately be measured by the improvement of customer services on the ground as perceived by those who utilise them on a regular basis, that is Msunduzi municipality’s many residents and ratepayers,” said Hlomuka.
During the visit Mayor Thebolla emphasised the municipalities commitment to getting the billing system running at the optimum level.
KZN Cogta will share its insights gained during today’s surprise visit with Msunduzi’s appointed administrator Sicelo Duma and his team of officials. The department believes that the visit will provide a unique perspective on the municipality’s administration and service delivery challenges.