Makana residents can receive their municipal accounts by e-mail. The service costs R1 per account, which cuts down on stationery, postage and administration costs for the municipality.
Makana residents can receive their municipal accounts by e-mail. The service costs R1 per account, which cuts down on stationery, postage and administration costs for the municipality.
The municipality began advertising the new billing option from June 2010. Makana Municipality Chief Financial Officer Jackson Ngcelwane said the new system has several advantages as it is environmentally-friendly and lets residents keep all their electronic records in one place. He noted that e-mail is more reliable than regular postage and is much faster as well.
Ngcelwane said the municipality would save a reasonable sum of money if ratepayers take up the initiative.
The normal postage fee for municipal accounts is R5.50.
"There will be in the long run some financial benefits to the municipality. However, we must just note that not everyone has access to an emailing facility,” he said.
The electronic statements appear in the same format as the posted bills and have the same legal status.
This means that the digital copies can be used as proof of permanent address when registering with RICA or FICA. The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) is a law designed to prevent money laundering and requires financial institutions to register your permanent address when opening a new bank account. The Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (RICA) is intended to reduce cellphone crime and requires that everyone register their SIM cards and provide proof of address.
Members of the public can request to have their statements e-mailed to them by sending a message to Michelle Jacobs at michelle@makana.gov.za.
