The Rustenburg Local Municipality remains committed to resolving all the challenges relating to service delivery including matters relating to billing on all municipal utility accounts. To that end, the Municipal Manager Mr. Victor Makona has had an engagement already with various management personnel from the mining houses in the region, to whom we are appreciative given their response to the engagement session. Of great concern to the political and administrative leadership of the RLM is the low levels of collection rates, from services rendered to the business community and residents.
Given the operational model of the Municipality, it is critical to emphasize that apart from the equitable share the Municipality receives from government, the Municipality relies on its budgeting processes by up to 95% to operate optimally, from mainly revenue collection processes. In the absence of satisfactory revenue collection, the Municipality will not be able to meet its financial obligations, be in a position to deliver services to communities as well as continue with maintenance of existing infrastructure including roads, water and electricity for the benefit of the people of Rustenburg.
To that end, is critical for residents and the business community alike to be reminded that without an active credit control system implemented by the Municipality many of the critical services that communities receive such as water and electricity supply may come to an end, while the standard of existing infrastructure may deteriorate in the absence of funded maintenance plan. This can have far reaching consequences to the economy and way of life in Rustenburg, which is undesirable given the strategic objectives of the City in line with the 2040 Master Plan, key to which is the integration of basic services in a coordinated approach.
The Municipality remains, open to the business community as well as residents who intend to keep their accounts in order including commitments to payment plans to avoid penalties. In ensuring that we ultimately build a City we all can be proud of. A concerted effort hallmarked by co-operation and partnerships is key to ensure that all the service delivery objectives are achieved while improving the lives our various communities.
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