GEORGE NEWS - Frustration over George Municipality’s new billing system boiled over this weekend.

Heatherlands resident Vira Cloete, one of many frustrated homeowners, accused the municipality of being “absolutely ignorant and incompetent” in its handling of the matter.

She and her husband, Dr Adeo Cloete, have lived in George for more than 20 years. She said the problems experienced with the January municipal accounts have left many residents confused and upset.

The George Municipality confirmed on Monday 26 January that it has started re-issuing January account statements after technical and server problems prevented some residents from accessing their bills over the weekend.

In a public notice, the municipality said the second run of January statements is taking place and includes SMS and email notifications to all account holders. The original download link was deactivated as a precautionary measure to ensure that no personal or account information was compromised.

The municipality apologised for the inconvenience.

Residents received an email with a password-protected PDF version of a shortened statement, with the password being the resident’s new municipal account number. Additionally, an SMS was sent with a secure link to view and download the statement.

One resident noted that, even though she’s never before received any billing notifications from the George Municipality (she’s been renting a house for years), she too received an SMS for the January statement.

Why change the system?

Some residents say the problems go beyond access issues.

Cloete said she does not understand why the municipality decided to change the billing system in the first place. “I don’t know what was wrong with the old accounts,” she said. “If a change is made, it should make lives easier, not harder.”

She said her household had received two statements when the January accounts were issued on Saturday - one for their own account and another belonging to someone else - raising concerns about accuracy and confidentiality.

She also criticised the format of the new statement, saying it is inconvenient to work through pages and pages of information.

Cloete further said the SMS link sent to her showed incorrect details. “When I opened the invoice, everything showed as zeros, but the water amount was exactly the same as the previous account,” she said. Attempts to get telephonic assistance were also unsuccessful. “When I phoned, my call was number 31 in the queue. After 10 minutes, it was still number 30. How long are people expected to wait?”

She added that, in her view, most residents are unhappy with the new system and that changes should be properly tested before being rolled out.

CFO Riaan du Plessis Photo: www.george.gov.za 

Finance chief explains the need for change

Changing the municipal billing system happened for a reason.

George Municipality’s CFO, Riaan du Plessis, explains that the local authority has, over the past 15 months, begun upgrading systems that are more than 20 years old.

“The old system was no longer able to comply with the requirements of National Treasury and could no longer meet the needs of a growing city. Council approved a new technology strategy in May 2025, with implementation starting in July 2025,” says Du Plessis. “While the transition has caused some short-term disruptions, it is necessary to improve billing, planning, infrastructure response and customer service.”

He says the municipality thanks the residents for their patience, as these changes will make municipal services more accurate, reliable and responsive. “Over time, this will help prevent major disruptions, improve accountability and ensure residents consistently receive the services they pay for.”

George Municipality confirms that the municipal billing email circulated to residents is legitimate. “The municipality was aware of the technical difficulties reported by some customers over the weekend and apologises for the inconvenience caused,” says Du Plessis. “The issues were unexpected and corrective measures were implemented immediately to ensure improved reliability going forward. A full re-issue of municipal statements was implemented as of today, 26 January [Monday].”

The way forward

To address the reported access issues, the updated process no longer includes downloadable links in emails. Instead, residents will be emailed a password-protected PDF statement, the password being the customer’s new municipal account number, excluding the leading zeros. In addition, the SMS sent will contain a secure viewing link, with password guidance provided in the message.

According to Du Plessis, no systemic billing inaccuracies, including double billing or incorrect property classifications, have been confirmed at this stage.

• Any billing concerns received are being assessed on a case-by-case basis to verify and correct individual accounts where necessary. 
• Should there be any queries regarding account access or billing, residents are requested to visit municipal offices during office hours (Monday to Friday, 07:45 to 16:30), or to contact the municipality on 044 801 9111 or [email protected], quoting the relevant account number for reference.
• Accounts can be accessed on www.citizenportal.co.za or on the George Municipality’s website under the ‘view account’ option.
•  Residents who are unable to access their accounts via the SMS secure link or the email PDF, may view and download their accounts via https://citizenportal.co.za/ or through the municipal website at https://www.george.gov.za/ by selecting the ‘View Account’ option. Assistance with registration and navigation of the portal is available via the video guide here: https://tinyurl.com/3evu6dn3
• For EFT payments, residents are reminded to use their new account number as the reference, starting with ‘GRG’ followed by the account number, without leading zeros. Proof of payment should be emailed to [email protected].
• The municipality warned that only the bank details shown on official statements are valid, and reiterated that it would never request payments on e-wallets or informal payment methods.

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