Incorrect and inaccurate municipal billing system poses a challenge in the local government
system in South Africa. The communities in the various municipalities were dissatisfied with the
incorrect and inaccurate municipal bills that were being issued. Consequently public confidence
in terms of the billing system dwindled, communities were unwilling to pay for the bills issued
and as such debt accumulated and the municipalities could not recover the debt.
The research question, therefore, is that the municipal bills sent to customers were incorrect or
inaccurate and revenue was lost. Public confidence with regard to municipal billings system
declined and communities were unwilling to pay for the incorrect or inaccurate bills issued. Debts
accumulated and seemingly the municipal billing system had an impact on revenue collection in
selected South African cities.
There is currently no scientific research which has been conducted at academic level to determine
the core problem as reported in newspapers, public domain and municipal areas to share the
information nationally and internationally regarding the state of municipal billing system, debt
and revenue management challenges. The research suggests that in order to improve the
efficiency of the collection of service charges, the billing and collection systems must be
decentralised, accessible to the consumer, matched with the income cycle and paying capacity of
the consumer.
The study covers an analysis of the municipal billing system and revenue collection in the City of
Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality and
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and suggests measures for financial sustainability in the
three cities. The study used both the qualitative case study and the quantitative approach to
effectively collect and analyse the data needed. The research problem which informs this study is
incorrect, inaccurate municipal bills sent to customers and lost revenue. The result of incorrect
and inaccurate bills was that public confidence declined and communities protested to pay for the
incorrect, inaccurate bills issued and thus debt accumulated. In examining this problem, the
research begins with a description of the context of empirical analysis, of the local government
system, municipal billing system and revenue collection in South Africa.
The study analysed profound issues regarding local governance systems namely: legislation,
policies, procedures, public administration and its environmental factors, spheres of government,
financial administration and standards, intergovernmental relations functions, municipal structure
and functions, elements of municipal billing systems, sources of revenue, municipal billing
systems challenges in the three metropolitan municipalities, debts accumulation and deficiency in
municipal billing systems and information technology.
The study recommends the need for a sound municipal billing and collection system essentially
regarding the taxes levied and collected by these metropolitan municipalities. A sound municipal
billing system should be configured with a short turnaround strategy to serve demand notices and
the collection of dues from individual customers, thereby enabling efficient cash recycling. An
efficient billing system is essential for taxes levied by municipalities and their collection from
consumers. The study also provides an opportunity for further academic research in the field of
municipal billing systems and revenue collection. Hopefully, this study will become a catalyst for
future research, policy alternatives and planning for local government and academic institutions
nationally and internationally regarding the municipal billing system and revenue collection
fields. / Dissertation (MAdmin)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / School of Public Management and Administration / unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/41277 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Mazibuko, Gezani Phineas |
| Contributors | Fourie, D.J. (David Johannes), hlohlo@lantic.net |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Rights | © 2014 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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