Bulawayo Councilor Pushes for Smart Metres to Improve Billing Accuracy
Bulawayo Ward 3 councillor, Mxolisi Mahlangu is calling for the implementation of smart water metering technology to address ongoing billing challenges that have left residents frustrated and the municipality struggling to collect revenue.
Councilor Mahlangu raised the issue during the latest full council meeting, arguing that smart metres could provide a long-term solution to the city’s revenue collection woes.
“Sometimes as councillors we are victims of our ability to try and find popularity in the residents, like Councillor Mabufo is rightfully saying. We refuse smart metering on the basis that other people run the world,” Mahlangu said.
The councillor pointed to the uneven nature of the current billing system, where some households are vastly overpaying for their electricity while others are underpaying.
“How many households have run out of electricity apart from the shaped Imperial? Everyone is paid out. Someone buys 10 dollar electricity, someone buys 50 dollar electricity, someone buys 7 dollar electricity. At the end of the day, we own the electricity to cook. Meanwhile, Zesa has recovered his debt,” he explained.
Mahlangu argued that the implementation of smart metres could help address these discrepancies and improve the city’s revenue collection efforts.
“In terms of efficient revenue collection, this is going to be the panacea in addressing city council challenges in terms of collecting people and losing money, hiring lawyers and debt collectors to go and collect revenue to residents,” he said.
The issue of estimated billing has long been a source of frustration for Bulawayo residents, with many complaining that their bills do not accurately reflect their actual water and electricity consumption.
Under the current system, the city council estimates a household’s monthly usage based on a range of factors, including the size of the property, the number of residents, and historical consumption data. This can often result in significant over or under-billing.
Mahlangu acknowledged the challenges with the current estimated billing system, noting that the council has struggled to accurately read metres and provide residents with consistent monthly bills.
“Agreed to implement the smart water metering issue is also a cause for concern in this city council your Worship. We have spoken full council after full council on the need to ensure that we take the burden off our residents by number one, casing their bills, by aggregating them and dividing them by three over one, two, three, four months,” he said.
The councillor argued that smart metres could provide a more accurate and transparent way of measuring consumption, ultimately benefiting both the council and its residents.
“If it was wrongly read. It means your average, that who will give you every month, will consistently write. That is if my statistics are right,” Mahlangu said.
“In my words, where I come from, I speak with confidence. What three residents are crying for smart pictures, your worship, because they are tired of being built on the meat, the church on the meat they did not buy from the butcher,” Mahlangu said.
The councillor’s calls for smart metering come as the city council grapples with ongoing revenue collection challenges, with unpaid water and electricity bills contributing to a significant budget deficit.
Mahlangu argued that the implementation of smart metres could be a game-changer for the city, ultimately benefiting both the council and its residents.
“I therefore propose, your worship, that through you and the town clay, you expedite the process of implementing or doing research on this smart metre so that we can close this gap,” he said.
As Bulawayo continues to navigate the complexities of its billing and revenue collection systems, the council will likely need to weigh the potential benefits of smart metering against the costs and logistical challenges of implementation. However, with residents increasingly vocal about the need for greater transparency and accuracy, the pressure to find a solution is only likely to grow.
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