Public Service Utility (PSU International) is the name of the company contracted to conduct data cleaning within the ELM. Their profile and vast working international experience speaks volumes and we hope that their work will be a firm foundation towards yielding the long lasting positive results in getting the municipality performance to be the better.
According to the Project Manager, Mr. Deon Kotze, their company specializes in both Revenue Enhancement and Debtor Management. The company has been part of ELM since February 2007, as part of the intervention made by Department of Local Government in response to the National Department of Provincial and Local Government program of project consolidate.
This forms part of many governments driven intervention to procure the services of specialists, to create internal capacity for the Municipality, to correct information through embarking on a data cleaning verification process. Their tasks includes inter alia intensive investigations and data verification processes to ensure correctness, accuracy, regular information updates, to minimize the high risk associated to the loss of revenue by the municipality in fulfilling its service delivery mandate to its communities.
The Assistant Manager for Revenue involved in the project, Mr. Francois Badenhorst, confirmed that huge strides have been made by the municipality in the investigations, involving approximately 320 000 accounts (active and inactive) on the debtors database. On average the municipality renders 160 000 monthly statements (accounts) to the residential and other categories of consumers.
PSU also worked with Metsi-a-lekoa (Water Utility) to rectify 3000 incorrect water and electricity billings in respect of accounts rendered to consumer’s monthly consumption, averting the huge crisis resulting from faulty meter readings.
In terms of the Municipal Property Rates Act, Council has also appointed a company (Nick de Klerk (Pty) Ltd and Notsi & Associates) to compile and maintain the valuation roll in terms of the Act. As part of their contract the company is working on approximately 170 000 properties and is preparing for the implementation of the Municipal Property Rates Act to come into effect from July 2009.
We hope PSU takes care of technical skills transfer into the Municipality’s relevant sections so that all plans should continue to achieve the set objectives envisaged towards the restoration of the ELM administrative acumen.
Progress reports are submitted to Council on the achievements and developments.
Hope that by the time PSU contract expires, December 2008, ELM would have acquired the necessary skills transferred internally so that all plans should continue to achieve the set out long term objectives envisages towards the restoration of its administrative acumen.