City of Tshwane embarks on an aggressive revenue-collection campaign by disconnecting services to defaulting customers

Thu, Feb 10, 2022

Today, City of Tshwane senior officials, led by the acting City Manager, Mmaseabata Mutlaneng, embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented revenue-collection campaign by disconnecting services to customers whose accounts have been in arrears for more than three months. 

The City of Tshwane's debtor's book, mainly from government departments, embassies, businesses, residential customers and entities that do not pay for municipal services, currently stands at over R17 billion. This debt makes it difficult for the City to fulfil its obligation of delivering essential and basic services to Tshwane residents and its customers. 

After making a series of impassioned pleas to customers to honour their municipal accounts by paying them on time and in full that fell on deaf ears, the City swiftly embarked on a campaign to recoup debt owed to it by its customers by disconnecting water and electricity services to government departments, mainly the buildings under the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and businesses in the Pretoria CBD, Sunnyside and parts of Centurion. The arrears are on property rates, water and electricity services. 

Residential customers owe the City around R8 billion, businesses R4 billion and the outstanding amount that makes up the R17 billion of debt is owed by government departments, entities and embassies. 

The City is also in the process of attaching bank accounts of certain entities in a concerted effort to recoup monies owed to the City, which monies would go a long way to fast-track projects aimed at improving service delivery. 

Tomorrow, the Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Ald Randall Williams, will join the acting City Manager in accelerating the disconnection campaign to drive home the message that if you do not pay for the services you consume, credit control measures will be implemented without fear or favour. The first phase of the revenue-collection campaign will focus on a number of big businesses, 100 suburbs and 48 government accounts. 

The officials spearheading the campaign have been accompanied by Tshwane Metro Police Department officials to ensure their safety and security, and to protect them from possible harassment and intimidation. 

If there are customers who want to query their accounts, they are welcome to contact the City virtually through its outreach programme, which is run by the City's revenue officials. 

Next week, the campaign will take on a different dimension and focus on complexes and estates, before moving to residential areas. The City is on high alert to respond swiftly and ruthlessly to customers who illegally reconnect electricity soon after being disconnected. 

The City would like to issue a stern warning to customers who tamper with our infrastructure and breach water and electricity meters: The City will not hesitate to slap the offending customers with hefty fines. 

The following measures are applicable to debtors with arrear accounts for municipal service charges in respect of which either water or electricity, or both services, and any other services are supplied by the City: 

A reminder that the previous account has not been paid on the due date is generated after the due date and is hand-delivered to the debtor's physical address. This reminder clearly states that 14 days are allowed for payment or arrangement for payment. In the absence of such a payment, service delivery to the debtor's consumption address will be restricted. The account of the debtor is debited with the cost of such a reminder at the approved municipal tariff. If prepaid meters for the vending of services have been installed, 60% of purchases will be allocated towards the arrear services account.

Should a debtor not respond within the specific period stated in the reminder, the electricity supply to the debtor or consumer will be discontinued and the reason for the discontinuation supplied. The account of the debtor will be debited with the cost of the disconnection at the approved municipal tariff.

Should a debtor not respond to the electricity disconnection within the specified period, and should the debtor or consumer have an account that includes water consumption levies, the water supply will be disconnected (restricted for residential consumers) at the consumption address. A notice to that effect will be left at the premises. The account of the debtor will be debited with the cost of this action at the approved municipal tariff.

Should there be no response within the 14-day period stipulated in the reminder and should the debtor have an account for water consumption levies but not for electricity, the water will be disconnected (restricted for residential consumers) at the consumption address after 14 days. A notice to that effect will be left at the premises.

If the amount for rates and taxes owed by the owner of the property is not paid after the specified due date, the City may recover the amount in whole or in part from a tenant or occupier of the property, to the extent as provided for in Section 28 of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, 2004 (Act 6 of 2004). The City may recover an amount only after it has served a written notice on the tenant or occupier. The services on such a property will be discontinued or restricted as provided for by law.

The above provisions to make payment arrangements are not applicable to government departments as they are required to pay their accounts in full.

Statement issued by City of Tshwane, 10 February 2022

Earlier today I spoke to the Selby Bokaba, the City of Tshwane's spokesperson, to get more information on the city's view on its cutting off of services to various military-related buildings and Denel Lyttelton facility for non-payment. I have summarised his responses. 1/10

— Darren Olivier (@darren_olivier) February 10, 2022