No answer from the City

Manya Bredell, Sunningdale

I have been trying to call the City of Cape Town for two days now — on Monday July 16 and Tuesday July 17 – on 021 400 1111 and 0860 010 3089, at various times.

There is no, but no answer. The phone rings, I choose the option and then that telephone rings and cuts out. Every single time.

Today I eventually called the general emergency number. Somebody answered and said they would put me through to general enquiries, which he did, but the same thing happened. The phone rang a few times and cut off.

The person at the general emergency said the City was open 24/7. I cannot believe that. They don’t even answer their phone calls during normal working hours.

Furthermore the city has this statement, bright and bold, on their website: “The City of Cape Town aims to ensure fast, effective service and communication with our public. If you need to speak to someone on the phone, or don’t yet know who you should contact, please see our list of public City contacts below.”

In my experience, this is not true. Why not remove it, then the public will not expect the calls to be answered when they try to call in.

The reason for my call is to find out about a telephone number that Tabletalk published some time ago about reporting diesel fumes from trucks and vehicles: the number that was published was: 021 590 1419.

Naturally, this number does not work anymore either.

Jan Kruger from the City of Cape Town responds:

The 021 400 1111 number is the City’s telephone exchange number. Facilities management confirms that the number is working and is receiving calls.

It could have been a technical problem which resulted in the call not being answered.