BY PHESHEYA IAN KUNENE
MBABANE – The capital city’s top municipal boss has thrown her weight behind digital billing, saying it’s high time local governments ditched outdated systems and embraced tech to make life easier for both the council and the people.
Gciniwe Fakudze, the CEO of the Municipal Council of Mbabane, didn’t mince her words when she addressed stakeholders during a presentation on smart billing at the 2025 CIGFARO forum.
She said the way things were being done, with paper, long queues and snail-paced payment systems, was no longer cutting it.
She told delegates that smart billing was not just a nice-to-have but a must, if municipalities were serious about collecting revenue, reducing debt, and delivering services quicker and better.
“People want convenience. They want to pay their bills on their phones, not stand in line all day,” Fakudze said during her presentation.
She pointed out that embracing technology would help councils fix slow collections, eliminate billing errors, and give residents real-time access to their accounts.
Fakudze painted a clear picture of a smarter future, where online portals, cloud systems, and mobile payments work together to streamline billing and boost transparency. She added that when billing is accurate and easy to understand, residents are more likely to pay on time and trust the process.
She even gave a shoutout to the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, which has transformed into a smart city using digital payment platforms for everything from hospital fees to parking. Fakudze said if Taipei could do it, so could Mbabane, and the rest of Africa.
“Imagine using your phone to pay your rates, view your water usage, or report a broken pipe, all in one place. That’s the goal,” she said.
She encouraged municipalities to start by auditing their current systems, upskilling their staff, and forming partnerships with tech experts, government agencies, and universities to build capacity.
But Fakudze was also realistic. She acknowledged that not everyone would welcome the changes with open arms. Some staff and even citizens may resist the new systems, but with proper training, strong leadership, and community engagement, she believed the change could be successful.
As part of her action plan, she advised councils to focus on areas with the biggest impact, such as revenue collection, licensing and citizen complaints – and to go digital one step at a time.
Fakudze’s message was clear: with the right strategy and tools, municipalities could not only increase their revenue but also create a better experience for the people they serve.