Billing crisis heads to court

Johannesburg residents, fed up with the chaotic state of the city's billing system, are taking matters into their own hands and will head to court next month to force the city to sort itself out.

City residents have been plagued for months by grossly inflated bills and unjustified disconnections. Account-holders have hit brick walls trying to get answers to the problem, and even the ruling African National Congress and a national minister stepped in to help resolve the debacle.

The root of the billing mess is post-implementation problems with the city's migration to SAP. The project, codenamed Phakama, cost R580 million to implement, but now human error and systems issues are causing hiccups in the billing process.

Despite the public outcry, Johannesburg executive mayor Amos Masondo has repeatedly denied there is a crisis, although he has admitted to challenges affecting a small number of ratepayers. The opposition party has called for Masondo to step down.

Now, a Democratic Alliance ward councillor is putting his job on the line by spearheading a class action suit against city manager Mavela Dlamini. David Dewes says the legal action seeks to force the city to sort out the mess and, if that doesn't work, a claim for damages will be lodged.

The legal action could set a vital precedent, paving the way for citizens to hold local government accountable for service delivery, or face the possibility of forking out for damages. About 8% of the city's million ratepayers have queried their bills.

“The suit will essentially be applying for a court order to act, to compel the city manager to sort out the accounts. We are, however, fully expecting the city manager to fail to act, and in so doing he will then be in contempt of the court order, which will open the door for further action,” says Dewes.

Set timelines are in place for the class action suit, and all documents will be finalised by the end of the month. “We also hope to secure a court date for March and we hope to have settled the case before April.”

However, this time line could be problematic, concedes Dewes, as some account issues may have been resolved before the matter gets to the court.

Dewes says the suit will be filed against Dlamini as “it would be a mammoth task to go after the City of Johannesburg”. This is why the suit will first single out Dlamini in his personal capacity.

Dewes says there has been a rush of support in the past week, with more than 30 people signing up as applicants in the legal action. People wanting to join the suit will still be able to do so until the end of March. “We wouldn't want to exclude anyone, and obviously the more people involved, the better,” notes Dewes.

Legal costs will be funded by donations of between R500 and R1 000 from each citizen signing up and - so far - close to R40 000 has been raised. At least R60 000 needs to be raised to cover costs, adds Dewes.

Dewes was compelled to seek legal action, after exhausting all other avenues. “As someone who has been voted into a position of power, even I can't seem to do anything to help the people in my area.”

The matter will be filed at the South Gauteng High Court, in Johannesburg, although summons has yet to be served on the city as the paperwork is still being finalised. Once documentation has been sorted out, Dewes will request a court date.

However, the councillor faces losing his job over the pending court case. “As a councillor, I may not bring action against the city, so I am fully expecting repercussions for my actions,” explains Dewes.

“If I end up losing my job because of this, then so be it - having tried every other means, there are no other democratic mechanisms available and now I must do what I've got to do. There is an accountability of living in a democracy.”

Dewes hopes the case will set a precedent for potential future damages cases against state entities. “If we can win this case, it will set the precedent necessary for future cases suing for damages to be successful.”

The local ward councillor is “sick” of the disdain with which politicians deal with their public. “We need to demand from our officials that they begin to act in a constructive manner to resolve problems and that they treat their citizens with empathy. Hopefully, if we can set a court precedent, officials will start waking up.”

Dewes hopes the judge will give the city 30 days to sort out the issues, and at most 60 days. Masondo previously indicated it could take up to two years to sort out the mess. If the city does not comply with the court order, legal action for damages will follow, although the amount has yet to be quantified, Dewes says.

Dewes implores the public to resist apathy: “We as a public are too gullible. We are constantly fed garbage and we simply take it, but the time has come to stand together as citizens and take action and take them to court. It's time for them to either shape up or ship out.”

The Johannesburg Attorneys Association (JAA) also previously threatened legal action against the city, because rate clearance certificates were delayed by the migration to Phakama, holding up transfer of thousands of houses.

Acting chairman of the association's property committee Anton Theron said, in the middle of last year, that the JAA may take the city to court to resolve the matter. However, the threatened legal action is on hold while the association exhausts other avenues to sort out the situation.

Theron says the JAA is in talks with the deeds office at the moment. “If there is a problem that a court order cannot solve, what's the point of going to court?”

The Joburg Advocacy Group (JAG), which advocates for best-practice governance from the City of Johannesburg, says the lawsuit could set a very important precedent. “In light of the fact that local government appears to be unaccountable to the electorate and untouchable in terms of the law, we feel that it would be an important suit,” says founding member Lee Cahill.

Cahill says the National Taxpayers' Union has previously been successful in preventing local governments from cutting off citizens when they have disputed their bills, but this is on a much smaller scale. About 22 residents' associations are currently withholding rates and paying these into a trust account to cover the cost of services that municipalities should be delivering, she explains.

The pending billing legal action will be the first such class action suit that Cahill is aware of, and could set a precedent in holding government accountable. JAG supports “any action that is based on sound legal grounds,” she says.

Local social networking and civil action site Mobilitate is being used as the platform through which people can join the class action suit and file their billing complaints. “Mobilitate has the organisational and structural support to easily collect and sort the complaints of those wanting to join the class action suit,” says Mobilitate CEO Lionel Bisschoff.

A mass protest is planned for 18 February at Thuso House, the head office of the city's billing department. The protest will start at 9am.

The communications division for the City of Joburg says it is not yet aware of the possible class action suit, and declines to comment until it receives more information.