Newly elected Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad got his hands dirty in his first outreach since taking office.
On Wednesday morning, Amad joined City Power in Roodepoort in their revenue collection operation, where they disconnected customers who have defaulted on payments and removed illegal connections where people bypassed meters.
Amad said the operation was important, as it would help boost the city's finances, which he said were not in a good state.
“City finances are on the brink of collapse, so this revenue collection will help us boost the city's finances. The operation will also make it possible for the city to beef up its ailing infrastructure,” Amad said.
The Roodepoort service delivery centre is owed R1.9bn, according to City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava.
She said with the operation, they were ensuring they got revenue from power consumption.
“The thing here is that we are trying to get money for a service that has been rendered. People have used electricity, but they have not paid for using it. So we are here to make sure they pay for the electricity they have already used,” Mashava said.
The City Power team’s first stop was a manufacturer of atchaar in the CBD. The business is said to owe City Power R2.4m.
The business owner, who is also the tenant, however, appeared clueless about what City Power officials were talking about.
He said he used prepaid electricity he purchased from the landlord, and as far as he is concerned, he didn’t owe City Power.
City Power technicians did not, however, accept that explanation as they went ahead and disconnected the building.
Another building, which houses offices, a tailor and a tuck shop was also switched off for nonpayment. The building is said to owe City Power R2.5m.
Also in the CBD, several small businesses, which include a fast food outlet, cellphone shop and clothing stores, were also disconnected after it was found they had reconnected themselves illegally after being cut off previously.
Mashava said they were working on implementing a digital system that could detect immediately when a disconnected customer tried to reconnect illegally.
She said those found to have reconnected illegally would be fined by Metro police, who were also part of the operation.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the operation would continue in different parts of the city, as they try to recover more than R7bn defaulting customers owe.
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Joburg mayor Thapelo Amad plugs into City Power's collections drive to get back millions
Image: Belinda Pheto
Newly elected Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad got his hands dirty in his first outreach since taking office.
On Wednesday morning, Amad joined City Power in Roodepoort in their revenue collection operation, where they disconnected customers who have defaulted on payments and removed illegal connections where people bypassed meters.
Amad said the operation was important, as it would help boost the city's finances, which he said were not in a good state.
“City finances are on the brink of collapse, so this revenue collection will help us boost the city's finances. The operation will also make it possible for the city to beef up its ailing infrastructure,” Amad said.
The Roodepoort service delivery centre is owed R1.9bn, according to City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava.
She said with the operation, they were ensuring they got revenue from power consumption.
“The thing here is that we are trying to get money for a service that has been rendered. People have used electricity, but they have not paid for using it. So we are here to make sure they pay for the electricity they have already used,” Mashava said.
The City Power team’s first stop was a manufacturer of atchaar in the CBD. The business is said to owe City Power R2.4m.
The business owner, who is also the tenant, however, appeared clueless about what City Power officials were talking about.
He said he used prepaid electricity he purchased from the landlord, and as far as he is concerned, he didn’t owe City Power.
City Power technicians did not, however, accept that explanation as they went ahead and disconnected the building.
Another building, which houses offices, a tailor and a tuck shop was also switched off for nonpayment. The building is said to owe City Power R2.5m.
Also in the CBD, several small businesses, which include a fast food outlet, cellphone shop and clothing stores, were also disconnected after it was found they had reconnected themselves illegally after being cut off previously.
Mashava said they were working on implementing a digital system that could detect immediately when a disconnected customer tried to reconnect illegally.
She said those found to have reconnected illegally would be fined by Metro police, who were also part of the operation.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the operation would continue in different parts of the city, as they try to recover more than R7bn defaulting customers owe.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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