
City's plans to eliminate reconnection fees for stolen power cables gets underway
City's plans to eliminate reconnection fees for stolen power cables gets underway
City of Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, during his State of the City Address (SOCA) in March 2025, made an announcement calling for the removal of the fee for reinstatement of stolen residential service connection cables.
As such, the city's energy department has started with a council approval process that will fast-track the amendment and the implementation of the promulgated electricity by-law.
This amendment will form part of the city's budget process, but it requires council approval processes.
Upon council approval, the outcome will be announced publicly and implemented immediately.
In the interim, the charge of R1 500 excl VAT (R1 725 @ 15% VAT) will remain in place as part of the council's promulgated tariff until the amendment process is concluded.
The municipality appeals for understanding and patience of ratepayers in this regard.
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Maverick
6 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
‘No problem,' says Joburg as R1bn tender goes to officials' families or friends
The City of Johannesburg defends the award of massive transport contracts to politically connected families, despite concerns from the Auditor-General and civic watchdogs A week after Auditor-General revealed that the City of Johannesburg had awarded R972-million in dodgy family-linked tenders, city spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane has confirmed that the metro government sees no problem and will not investigate. Six awards (or contracts) valued at almost R1-billion were made to the family of either a city official or councillor for the extension of the BRT/Rea Vaya bus system in 2023. The extension of the city transport service is eight years behind schedule, and a final deadline for the end of 2024 was also missed. 'There is no regulatory provision that prohibits the Municipality to award contracts to the category of people in question (spouse, child or parent of a person in service of state either actively or in the past twelve months). Therefore, the question whether the City failed in oversight and due diligence is misplaced,' said Modingoane. The Auditor-General has a different view. 'Although there is no legislation that prohibits municipalities from making awards to suppliers in which close family members or business associates of employees or councillors have an interest, such awards create conflicts of interest for these employees or councillors and/or their close family members or business associates. The possibility of undue influence cannot be discounted, especially if the person could have influenced the procurement processes for these awards, potentially creating opportunities for irregularities.' While Modingoane confirmed the awards were made for the BRT/Rea Vaya extension, he would not provide further details. He said the connected council official had not sat in on the award decision. Asked if the award would be rescinded or investigated, Modingoane said, 'To rescind such an award will be unlawful and the Municipality will be exposed to litigation risks as a result'. He said that the transactions had been disclosed in the city's annual financial statements as required by law, and no further investigation was necessary. BRT-Rea Vaya veers off track When cities commit to ending spatial inequality (which means that poor black people live on the outskirts while the middle and wealthy classes live in the city near opportunities and amenities), there are two ways to do so: provide transport for workers to get to economic opportunities or increase social housing near jobs. In Johannesburg, the rapid bus transport system was an innovative idea to mediate apartheid planning by making it cheap, easy and fast for workers living on the city's outskirts to go into town, to where they worked, or to get around. The city, which began as a gold mining town, was built along the ultimate apartheid master plan. Black people were housed in dormitory towns and suburbs far out of the white city in enclaves easily controlled by security forces if they resisted – the violent response to the 1976 student rebellion was the obvious example of how it worked. The BRT/Rea Vaya incorporates the taxi industry and co-owns two companies that run the system, PioTrans and Litsamaiso. The city pays BRT/Rea Vaya for trips made. The system has not been without conflict, especially with PioTrans. Its expansion to the north (the so-called Phase 1C) of the project has fallen prey to serial infrastructure and leadership weaknesses that beset local government, which Maluleke highlighted. The city has expanded north, and job opportunities are increasingly available in the new nodes. Phase 1C would almost double the number of buses and take people to where the opportunities are. But new stations lie dormant as delays have repeatedly impacted on roll-out. The weaknesses include corruption (as the R972-million contracts suggest), institutional capacity, effective project governance, ineffective planning, procurement and contract management weaknesses and a lack of accountability for poor performance. Maluleke's report lays bare all these factors. Phase 1C is eight years behind schedule, and the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) missed a pledge to get it running by the end of 2024. Daily Maverick regularly tracks the route to check, and progress is still far from complete. This detracts from the effort to end spatial inequality and get young people into jobs — Gauteng and Johannesburg have among the highest youth unemployment rates. Because it is subsidised, trips on the Rea Vaya are cheaper than other forms of public transport. Intervention delivers little Johannesburg is under soft intervention by the Presidency because of its rapidly collapsing infrastructure and services, but after 100 days, most residents say the impacts on the ground are imperceptible. In the past week, there have been multiday water cuts in the east of the city and power outages in the near west and across the inner city as underground fires roar through cabling. Last week, Mayor Dada Morero launched a 'bomb squad' to help him improve city management. MMC for Transport Kenny Kunene said, 'I have not heard anything about it (the R972-million dodgy tenders).' He said he would investigate and revealed that when he started his job in 2021, R23-million had been stolen from the BRT and officials had been suspended, but reinstated after the ANC intervened. He had ensured they exited as part of an anti-corruption plan, he told Daily Maverick. Failing management Johannesburg's audit outcome was unqualified with findings. (For context: the board of a private sector CEO of a company with a budget of R88-billion – Joburg's budget – would sack a CEO for this outcome.) The city lost R2.9-billion in water and R4.93 billion in electricity. Auditors ensured city finance officials reduced fruitless and wasteful expenditure to R1.48-million in 2023/24. Over the past three years, this figure stood at R354-million. The AG said the quality of its submitted statements was poor, but good on publication after remediation. The quality of its performance reports was poor. The overall status of its financial controls was poor. The BRT/Rea Vaya delays symbolise this failing management. The AG also found that 'The City of Johannesburg did not coordinate effectively with its entities. This was due to misalignment between the metro and its entities on expectations and plans, obligations, budgets and timelines for the successful delivery of key projects.' The DA has lodged a formal complaint with the Special Investigating Unit over the R1-billion in awards to companies that are linked to current and former councillors, said its head of caucus, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku. 'This shocking report paints a grim picture of a city where public money is seemingly treated as a personal piggy bank by those elected to serve it. At a time when Joburg's streets are crumbling, power outages are the norm and basic service delivery is in freefall, it is unacceptable that councillors may be benefiting from a broken procurement system.' Risk is that nothing will be done – Corruption Watch 'The worrying thing is that it is a sizeable amount – it may be six officials (or six awards to one official) or their relatives who cost Joburg residents just under R1-billion. 'The official response is quite disturbing. The biggest risk is that nothing will be done, and another big transport infrastructure is threatened. Metro governments are regressing in terms of their reports to the Auditor-General,' said Moepeng Talane of Corruption Watch, who assesses all AG reports for the organisation. 'It's worrying and urgently needs the intervention of the provincial governments,' she said. DM


The Citizen
20 hours ago
- The Citizen
Enjoy every moment in a Beijing X55
Whether you're a car enthusiast or simply curious; it's your chance to get behind the wheel of the latest models from BAIC South Coast. Head to Southcoast Mall to experience the BAIC Beijing X55 or X55 Plus. 'At BAIC South Coast we offer what customers want most – fuel economy, technology, safety and outstanding performance. Our friendly sales executives will be at Southcoast Mall until June 8 from 09:00 to 17:00. The location is ideal as we can attract shoppers who might be in the market for a new car,' said marketing manager, Anechia Werner. X55: a compact SUV with trim levels including Dynamic, Elite and Premium. The luxurious tech-forward cabin has a high-definition touchscreen infotainment system, intuitive controls and smartphone integration. Also, control functions with your voice for a smarter hands-free ride with AI-enhanced voice commands. Wireless charging keeps your devices powered without the clutter of cables. Enjoy exceptional performance of 0-100km/h in 7.8 seconds and the lowest fuel consumption in its class at 7.18l/100km. X55 Plus: it's equipped with the latest in safety technology to keep you and your loved ones safe. These features include adaptive cruise control for stress-free highway driving, blind-spot monitoring to eliminate surprises on the road, 360-degree camera for ultimate parking precision, and an advanced airbag system to protect all passengers. It's available in 2.0 petrol turbo or 2.0 diesel turbo, the choice is yours on how you power your adventure. HAVE YOUR SAY Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!


The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
Canes for the blind through Give a Cane Campaign
Canes for the blind through Give a Cane Campaign The SA Guide-Dogs Association is proud to announce the launch of the 2025 Give a Cane campaign, with an even bigger goal in sight. This follows the success of the SA Guide-Dogs Association's inaugural campaign in 2024, which provided 500 white canes to people living with visual impairments. This year, the campaign is calling on South Africans to help raise enough to fund the distribution of at least 1 000 white canes and essential orientation and mobility training. With donations towards a cane starting at just R50, everyone can be part of someone's journey to independence. 'A white cane is so much more than a mobility aid, it's freedom, dignity and the confidence to move through life independently,' said Pieter van Niekerk, spokesperson for the SA Guide-Dogs Association. Why the white cane matters The white cane used by SA Guide-Dogs is not a regular walking stick. It's a specialised mobility tool with a rounded ball tip designed to detect changes in terrain, from sidewalks to tactile paving, and signals to others that the user is visually impaired. This promotes safety, awareness, and inclusion in public spaces. Get involved You don't have to walk alone, and you don't have to give big. A R50 donation helps bring someone closer to independence. You can also: • Host a dress-up day, walk-a-thon, or blindfold challenge at work or school • Encourage your book club, community, or running group to chip in • Start a R50 donation challenge at the office • Take part in an online gaming fundraiser • Walk, run, or cycle 50km and get sponsored And if you're a business, don't forget that donations are eligible for Section 18A tax certificates. Donate now or set up your fundraiser at At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!