Tshwane mayor to focus on basic services, revenue collection
Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink outlined his administration’s main priorities during his State of the City Address on Thursday.
The DA councillor pinpointed an improvement in the delivery of basic services to residents and the city’s dire financial state as top of his agenda.
Thursday was Brink’s maiden State of the City Address following his election as part of the DA-led multiparty coalition in Tshwane.
Brink said the auditor-general’s adverse audit for the 2021/22 financial year was a wake-up call.
"Our focus must return to the basics of local government, in short water, electricity, waste collection, sewage, roads, public lighting and safety, and finding sustainable ways of delivering these services and securing the infrastructure through which they are provided," he said.
Brink told councillors that the city will remark on an aggressive revenue collection campaign, to be able to settle debts owed to Eskom and Rand Water.
"We have to pay for our obligations, so drastic measures will be taken in the coming weeks to turn our arrear debtors into cash.
“To achieve a revenue collection rate of at least 93%, we will need to perform at least 1 000 credit control disconnections every week and take measures to prevent illegal reconnections.
“To achieve this level of performance, the city manager will drive a series of changes in systems and personnel in the Revenue Management Division.
“Taking these measures is not just about good financial management, it is an obligation the city owes to the hundreds of thousands of consumers who do pay their bills on time," added Brink.
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