In response Joburg mayoral spokesman Kgotso Chikane says that when the revenue department announced that they wanted to launch its project the council's PR team was already busy on other projects, such as preparations for the launch of the city's new logo and the unveiling of the Hector Peterson memorial.
"The revenue department needed a team that would be completely dedicated to its project," he said, adding that it would have cost a lot more to shelve the project than did the hiring of Sandton-based Meropa Communications.
Meropa Communications' task is to educate municipal account holders on electronic payment of bills into the city's new ABSA account, and how to download their bills online or have them sent by e-mail.
Chikane says that residents had to be notified as soon as possible in order to avoid a repeat of previous billing-related problems. He also said it was not unusual for a council department to outsource work to communications firms if the in-house department had a heavy workload.
