‘Hello? Is anyone there?’ City of Joburg explains phone troubles

Direct phone lines of Johannesburg municipal officials will be unavailable until the city completes the transition to a new service provider. A migration between service providers is being blamed for the communications disruptions experienced by the Johannesburg municipality. Internal messages sent to staff earlier this week requested they use their personal mobile phones while state-issued phones were offline. The municipality confirmed on Thursday evening that direct lines to city officials would be unavailable while it worked with service providers to restore communications. “Some officials’ municipal mobile line services are currently experiencing temporary disruptions as a result of the contractual transition from one mobile service provider to another.” “While some individual mobile lines may remain temporarily unavailable, contingency measures have been activated to minimise any disruption to municipal operations and public access to services,” the city stated. Reporting faults Concerns were raised that the call centre would be affected, and while calls made by The Citizen went unanswered on Thursday, operators were contactable on Friday morning. “The disruption primarily affects selected direct mobile lines used by individual city officials. “Importantly, the city’s primary landlines and customer-facing channels, including the Joburg call centre, customer service centres and emergency contact services, remain operational and available to residents,” the municipality explained. The call centre and the municipality’s digital reporting platforms can be used to report water leaks, electricity outages, blocked sewers, refuse collection issues and traffic signal failures. “Residents with billing enquiries or account payment matters may continue to use the e-Joburg online platform or visit their nearest Customer Service Centre for assistance. “Every effort is being made to complete the migration and restore all affected mobile services as soon as possible. Further updates will be communicated should they become necessary,” the municipality concluded. Why the change? The reason for the change in service providers was not disclosed by the municipality, but the DA stated its intention to scrutinise the contingency plans and claims service providers had gone unpaid. “Residents expect a functioning administration, not one where basic communication systems fail. “Instead of prioritising sound financial management and protecting essential services, the administration continues to make reckless decisions that further undermine the city’s ability to deliver,” said DA Johannesburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku. The party also accused municipal administrators of draining entity accounts to shift funds to other areas of financial urgency. “A progress report submitted to the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group shows that on 30 June, the City of Johannesburg took R3.4 billion out of Johannesburg Water’s account and left it with a balance of zero. “The money was removed on 30 June because ring-fencing of water income at the city was meant to begin on 1 July,” stated the party’s water and sanitation spokesperson, Stephen Moore.