The DA led Kouga Municipality has slashed its annual Telkom bill by a massive 76% over the past two years.
Kouga Corporate Services Portfolio Councillor Bryan Dhludhlu said the savings were made possible by the upgrade of the municipal private automatic branch exchange (PABX) system in 2017.
“Three years ago, when the Democratic Alliance took over , the municipality’s annual Telkom bill totaled between R2 million and R3 million. We are very proud that we have been able to decrease this to R577 000 for the 2018/2019 financial year,” he said.
He said that as part of the PABX upgrade, voice over internet protocol (VOIP) lines were activated.
“This means that instead of copper voice carrier lines such as those used by Telkom, the internet facility and radio network of the municipality is now being used to make calls.
“This enabled us to start cancelling the Telkom lines were in phases,” he explained.
“Before the installation of the new PABX system, the municipality’s Telkom account was constantly in the region of R230 000 to R250 000 per month.
“The average monthly PABX and call expenditure for the entire municipality is currently averaging R16 000 per month,” he concluded.
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