Officials duck as billing chaos rises

Perhaps Johannesburg's executive mayor, Dada Morero, has his hands full these days trying to put lipstick on the pig of the city's declining infrastructure ahead of the G20 summit. But he really should spend some time in the ironically named "service centres" in the suburbs to get an inkling of how pathetic the treatment is of those honest residents who try to pay their dues.

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He will encounter horror story upon horror story of homeowners overcharged astronomical amounts for electricity and other services, or those cut off without warning... all because the bills they have been sent are wrong. The incompetence in the billing departments has got so bad that, earlier this year, City Power took back the billing responsibility from the central administration, recruiting more people to sort out the mess.