“The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber is concerned about continued deteriorating service delivery levels within the metropole as evidenced by the declining resolution rate of complaints channelled through its Help Desk and which relate to the ease of doing business.”
This is according to Denise van Huyssteen, CEO of the Chamber, which has noted that the resolution rate of queries raised by member businesses has declined by 23% versus the same period last year, while at the same time the number of queries has increased by 20%.
“We established the Help Desk four years ago as a dedicated service to our members to assist them with obstacles that impede the ease of doing business. These obstacles relate to a multitude of queries on municipal services, or information relating to business operational requirements.
“Incidents of water leaks, low pressure or poor water quality have been the most reported, which represent 30% of the cases reported so far this year. Complaints about poor road infrastructure such as potholes or lack of road markings, including incorrect billing on municipal rates also rank higher up on the log sheet,” said Van Huyssteen.
Through the Help Desk, the Chamber has also noticed a gradual increase in the number of illegal dumping cases across the city.
Other queries relate to petroleum licence renewals, water use licence process statistics, environmental concern, homeless people squatting, exports incentives, electricity, planning division, illegal dumping, sewerage spills, roads, and incorrect billing.
The centralisation of this service allows for businesses to receive expert advice on their queries while the Chamber ensures these are expedited through the relevant municipal offices or departments.
“The ease of doing business is an important aspect in creating a conducive environment for business to operate. Our Help Desk plays a significant and integral part in highlighting some of the key areas that negatively impact businesses in the Metro in their daily operations.
“It is for this reason that we have strengthened this area of our work to ensure that we take away the burden of going through the cumbersome administrative process of dealing with a multitude of different people. As such, we are very pleased with the progress made thus far, as this highlights the importance of this service to our members,” said Van Huyssteen.
