Municipalities across South Africa are facing a staggering financial challenge, with customers and consumers owing more than R384 billion in unpaid bills (National Treasury statistic). Concurrently, these municipalities owe Eskom a substantial R58.5 billion, creating a severe strain on the country’s energy and municipal infrastructure. This dire situation has arisen due to a combination of factors, including inaccurate billing practices, reliance on interim billing, ageing infrastructure, technical losses, and tampering with or bypassing metering systems. These issues have culminated in a crisis that threatens the financial stability of municipalities and their ability to provide essential services to their communities.
Macrocomm, in partnership with Vodacom and Ontec, is proud to announce our appointment to the National Treasury Transversal panel of service providers for the rollout of the Audit and Token Identifier (TID) conversion of existing prepayment meters. This initiative encompasses the supply, delivery, installation, management and maintenance of advanced smart metering solutions across South Africa.
To deliver this project, Macrocomm has partnered with Vodacom, the leading telecommunications and technology service provider in Africa, and Ontec Systems, industry champions in prepaid utilities vending. Collectively, we possess the extensive experience and expertise needed to implement a project of this scale.
As Africa's leading IOT service provider, Macrocomm brings extensive expertise, experience and knowledge to support municipalities in managing utility services effectively. The implementation of smart metering technology is expected to have far-reaching benefits for municipalities, the economy and citizens, particularly in the face of challenges such as load-shedding and water scarcity.
Through this initiative, municipalities will improve revenue collection, allowing funds to be routed towards key municipal projects aimed at improving the quality of life of municipal residents and businesses, as well as improving municipal infrastructure. As an end-user, one can look forward to accurate utilities consumption billing, proactive utility management capabilities, as well as simplified day-to-day utilities management.
To achieve the expected outcomes, this partnership is focusing on the rollout of the TID rollover key change process for all prepaid electricity meters before 24 November 2024, as well as a smart metering rollout. An extensive consumer engagement, education and training campaign will be implemented to facilitate improved resource management for a better and more sustainable service delivery initiative.
"Our commitment is to support municipalities in maximising their revenue potential. Through our smart technology and specialised services, we not only recover lost revenue but also provide tools to enhance and protect these financial resources, ensuring sustainable growth and improved service delivery," says Sivi Moodley, CEO, Macrocomm Group.
This partnership promises a comprehensive and meticulous approach to the successful implementation of smart utility management projects in municipalities and other government institutions. In addition to the TID rollover, our collective efforts will focus on replacing outdated
meters and deploying smart meters to ensure real-time visibility of utility services. This real-time data access enables municipalities and government bodies to accurately monitor utility usage, identify risk areas, and plan demand-based strategies efficiently.
Our meticulous audit processes identify discrepancies and recover lost revenue, which significantly boosts municipal income. This, coupled with our advanced smart metering technology, enhances financial stability, empowers municipalities to improve service delivery, reduce resource wastage, and build consumer confidence in the accuracy of their utility usage and bills. Through these efforts, the partnership is dedicated to driving sustainable growth and operational efficiency within the public sector.
Municipalities are encouraged to reach out to us at info@macrocomm.co.za or by telephone at (010) 493 6871 to explore how Macrocomm and our partners can assist in solving their revenue collection challenges.
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