Joburg Advocacy Group

Joburg Advocacy Group (JAG): September 2009

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Comment on Improving Government Performance Green Paper

Government has just released a Green Paper entitled "Improving Government Performance", and is asking for comments from the South African public. This is a chance to really have your say.

Check out the document here, and mail your comments to mamothe@po.gov.za in The Presidency.

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About Us

A Fresh Approach to Advocacy in the City of Johannesburg

The Joburg Advocacy Group is an independent, non-aligned and voluntary civil society advocacy group working for best practice governance, social justice and environmental protection in the City of Johannesburg.

For more information, click here.

PLEASE NOTE: The Joburg Advocacy Group aims to empower residents to take action on their own behalf, either as individuals or through residents' associations and civil society groups. As a small, voluntary group we are unable to assist with individual complaints. Please contact your ward councillor should you need assistance with service delivery matters.

No person is your friend who demands your silence ... " - Alice Walker: Novelist, Poet and Social Commentator

Log a Complaint

If you have a billing dispute or a problem with service delivery, the first course of action is to log a complaint with the city's call centre, Joburg Connect on either 011 375 5555 or
0860 JOBURG.

Please insist on an 8000 reference number and follow up on your complaint regularly.

If you're unable to get your dispute resolved or to have your service delivery issue problem addressed within 30 days, contact your ward councillor for assistance (note that ward councillors are only able to assist if you already have an 8000 Joburg Connect complaint reference number).

Joburg Connect can also be reached by e-mail on joburgconnect@joburg.gov.za, but this service is extremely unreliable and we recommend that you call to log a complaint instead. The call centre is very busy during the day and the early evenings, as well as on Saturday mornings. It is, however, a 24/7/365 call centre, so if you can't get through during office hours, try calling at off-peak times, especially if you have a query about your account. Note that complaints for certain city agencies, such as Pikitup and Joburg Roads Agency, can only be logged during office hours.

You also have the option of logging a complaint with the National Consumer Commission. We haven't had much success with the NCC but this is an option available to residents who might like to try it out.

If you're unable to get a billing dispute resolved, please notify Schindlers Attorneys, which is conducting a class action lawsuit against the city on behalf of a number of commercial property owners, and which is also acting in the public interest.

Finally, residents with unresolved billing disputes and service delivery complaints can log a complaint with the PRESIDENTIAL HOTLINE on 17737 or by mailing president@po.gov.za. Sadly, this seems to be easier said than done, as many residents report not being able to get through to the hotline, but it's worth trying.

We feel it's important for as many people as possible to log complaints with the PRESIDENTIAL HOTLINE so that the Presidency can get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of the failure of service delivery and good governance in the city of Joburg.

Contact the National Consumer Commission

The new Consumer Protection Act came into effect on 1 April 2011, and both metros and high-capacity municipalities are covered by it.

The National Consumer Commission deals with individual consumer complaints relating to both products and services, and can be contacted by telephone on 0860 266 786, by fax on 0861 515 229, or by e-mail on either ncc@thedti.gov.za or NNetshitomboni@thencc.co.za. We haven't had much success with the commission but, again, this is one of the options available to residents.

Contact the Public Protector

If you have a service delivery, environmental or social justice problem you're unable to resolve through the usual local structures (Joburg Connect, ward councillors and residents' associations), you can log a complaint with the Public Protector's office.

Call toll-free on 0800 11 20 40. Don't use the complaints form on the web site - it hasn't been working properly for some time.

"The mandate of the Public Protector is to strengthen constitutional democracy by investigating and redressing improper and prejudicial conduct, maladministration and abuse of power in state affairs; resolving administrative disputes or rectifying any act or omission in administrative conduct."

Contact the Green Scorpions

The Environmental Management Inspectorate, populary known as the 'Green Scopions' is tasked with monitoring and enforcing compliance with environmental legislation. The Inspectorate's can be contacted via its hotline on 0800 205 005 or by mailing pi@toanon.co.za.

For more information on the inspectorate, click through here.

To report any environmental incidents, call the 24/7 Environmental Crimes and Incidents Hotline on 0800 205 005.

You can also call the Department of Environment Affairs' Call Centre on 086 111 2468.

Joburg Advocacy Group (JAG)

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Comment on Improving Government Performance Green Paper

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