Tshwane Faces Backlash After Technical Error Leads to Double Billing
The City of Tshwane has confirmed that a technical error led to more than 11,000 customers being charged twice for the city’s controversial cleansing levy.
Municipal spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the issue has since been resolved and that affected customers will receive credits on their statements at the end of the month.
The cleansing levy, introduced earlier this year, imposes a monthly charge of R194 on both businesses and residential properties that use private waste collection services. The tariff was declared unlawful by the Gauteng High Court, but the municipality has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
In addition to the double billing error, some property owners who already pay for waste removal through body corporates have raised concerns about being incorrectly billed for the levy.
Mashigo said a comprehensive technical review was conducted, after which the billing system was reprogrammed to ensure that cleansing charges apply only to properties that do not receive municipal waste collection services.