“Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers” by Susan Johnson
With the South African Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft.
The first phase of the 2010 Census is underway as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country.
Eventually, more than 140,000 Census workers will count every person in the South Africa and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.
The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:
If a Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice.
Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions.
However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.
Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information.
Do not give your identity number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the Census.
REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS.
While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION.
The Census Bureau will not ask for bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations.
Any one asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau.
REMEMBER, THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS DECIDED NOT TO WORK WITH ACORN ON GATHERING THIS INFORMATION.
No Acorn worker should approach you saying he/she is with the Census Bureau.
Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home.
However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.
Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the Census Bureau.
Kind regards
Sector 6 Committee
http://www.sector6.co.za
Information on the City of Johannesburg Municipal Billing Crisis
13 November 2010
Many ratepayers in the City of Johannesburg are experiencing extreme difficulties with their
municipal accounts, and some have approached the Joburg Advocacy Group (JAG) for assistance in
amount" is not paid.
to get the clearance certificates they require to effect transfer of a house or apartment that has
been sold.
All have attempted to resolve these issues through all of the normal channels. However, repeated
calls to the Joburg Connect "helpline", e-mails to the accounts office, and even visits to the accounts
office itself have left the issues they're grappling with unresolved. More often than not, they’re
simply told to pay their bills or face credit action or, ultimately, the seizure of their properties.
service delivery situations, many ratepayers report that that they have not even received an
acknowledgement of their complaints from the Protector's office, let alone any assistance.
The issue has also been reported extensively in the media, but this has brought no effective relief for
ratepayers.
In terms of Section 33 of the Bill of Rights, contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa, all citizens have the right to just administrative action, and the onus is on the state toensure that the administration of all state functions is effective
of the Bill is as follows:
"Everyone has the right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair.
Everyone whose rights have been adversely affected by administrative action has the right to be
given written reasons.
National legislation must be enacted to give effect to these rights, and must:
- provide for the review of administrative action by a court or, where appropriate, an
independent and impartial tribunal;
- impose a duty on the state to give effect to the rights in subsections (1) and (2); and
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- promote an efficient administration." (see
In common law, the current billing crisis in the city may be regarded as illegal in terms of the legal
that have not been delivered in terms of a contractual agreement. As the city has a de facto
contract to supply services to ratepayers, which it is then permitted to charge for, the current
situation may be considered in violation of that contract. A legal opinion on this issue can be found
429.Further, in terms of the eight
meeting the consumer's right to redress in this situation.
Unfortunately JAG is a small, voluntary civil society advocacy group with limited resources, and we
are already engaged in a number of campaigns related to governance and service delivery, so are
unable to initiate and run a campaign to address the billing crisis.
We do, however, urge ratepayers to take the following actions if they are experiencing any
difficulties with their municipal accounts:
the call. It is also advisable to log a complaint with the city via e-mail at
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .
matter resolved, please log a complaint with the Public Protector. This can be done online at
012 366 7000. Letters can also be addressed to the Public Protector at Private Bag X677,
Pretoria, 0001. Please keep copies of all correspondence.
telephonically.
delivery in local government. Complaints can be logged with either the national office or any
of the regional offices (a full list is available at
telephone number for the national office is 012 334 0600 and the fax number is
012 334 0603. Regretfully, very few government departments have e-mail addresses, and
where they do have them, correspondence is seldom acknowledged.
with consumer issues, for advice and assistance. The union’s postal address is PO Box 27852,
on 012 428 7122, and faxes can be sent to 086 672 8585. The SANCU web site is at
http://www.sancu.co.za/.
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Union (see http://www.nbusa.org/?p=400).
NTU-affiliated residents’ associations are currently withholding rates due to the non-delivery
of services, and one of the most active of these is in the community of Sannieshof in North
campaigns are best conducted under the auspices of the NTU, which has already set a
number of legal precedents in this regard. It is advisable for RAs considering a rates
campaign to become members of the NTU (at a rate of R20 per household per year), which
will give them access to the union’s extensive knowledge base, as well as both legal advice
and support.
has proven to be more effective than trying to organise a city-wide campaign.
Unfortunately, it is our experience that very few consumers are presently able to resolve their City of
Johannesburg municipal billing problems, but we hope that concerted and consistent collective
action will ensure that the relevant authorities take appropriate action to rectify this situation.
Issued by the Joburg Advocacy Group
http://jag-sa.blogspot.com
