Joburg says its billing systems are working, but residents say the debt story feels painfully familiar

Joburg says its billing systems are working, but residents say the debt story feels painfully familiar

For many Johannesburg residents, the latest billing saga feels less like breaking news and more like a recurring nightmare.

The City of Joburg has firmly rejected claims that its municipal billing systems are failing, insisting that payments are being processed normally and reflected on customer accounts. But this denial has landed in a city where billing disputes have been simmering and boiling over for more than a decade.

A long-running problem residents know too well

Joburg’s billing troubles didn’t start this year, or even this decade. For more than 16 years, residents have complained about inflated tariffs, payments that vanish into the system, unexplained arrears and service disconnections later declared unlawful.

Pensioners have spoken publicly about receiving bills worth hundreds of thousands even millions of rand. Small businesses say errors have crippled cash flow. Community advice offices across the city are filled with residents clutching lever-arch files of statements that never seem to balance.

That history is what made recent reports so explosive.

Claims of systems offline spark panic

Earlier this week, reports and social media posts suggested Joburg’s two core billing systems had gone offline, with customer service centres allegedly unable to accept payments. Residents were warned to keep proof of payment, amid claims that transactions dating back to 19 January were not reflecting on accounts or on the city’s e-Joburg portal.

Some users claimed their online statements showed zero payments for up to two years a terrifying prospect in a city where billing disputes can trigger credit control action.

WhatsApp groups and community Facebook pages lit up with warnings, screenshots and advice on how to protect yourself if a disconnection notice arrived.

City pushes back hard

The metro has now dismissed those claims outright.

City of Joburg communications director Kgamanyane Maphologela said reports of widespread billing disruptions were misleading, adding that payments made through official channels continue to reflect on customer accounts.

He also rejected fears that residents who are fully paid up could face service cut-offs, saying customers in good standing are not subjected to credit control disconnections.

From the city’s perspective, the message is clear: the system is working.

Why trust remains fragile

But for many residents, reassurance alone isn’t enough.

Joburg is part of a wider Gauteng municipal debt crisis that analysts have described as a financial “death spiral” driven by weak debt collection, poor management and ageing IT systems. Neighbouring metros are facing similar pressure. In Ekurhuleni, consumer debt has climbed past R30.9 billion, with collection rates dipping as low as 27% in some areas, prompting renewed Eskom power cut threats. Tshwane has faced its own backlash over double billing for cleansing levies and rising debt impairments.

Against that backdrop, Joburg’s denials are being met with scepticism rather than relief.

A credibility gap the city can’t ignore

The deeper issue may not be whether payments are reflecting today, but whether residents believe the city when it says so.

Years of unresolved disputes have created a credibility gap that no single statement can close. Until billing errors are consistently fixed, historic cases resolved and systems made transparent, every glitch, real or perceived will trigger panic.

For now, Joburg insists its systems are stable. Residents, shaped by long experience, are keeping their proof of payment close, just in case.