logo
City Power targets Joburg business properties with R10.2bn debt

City Power targets Joburg business properties with R10.2bn debt

TimesLIVE16-07-2025
City Power has targeted non-paying business properties in Johannesburg that owe the electricity provider R10.2bn.
City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena told TimesLIVE that the revenue collection will not only assist the department but also assist the community to get service delivery and improved infrastructure.
A debt-collection drive was led on Wednesday by acting mayor Jack Sekwaila. The drive, which included City Power and Johannesburg Water, focused business properties and residential properties in Marshalltown.
'In Marshalltown alone we are owed R93m which makes it R10bn owed across the city,' he said.
Mangena said they plan to recover debt to ensure they are able to sustain service delivery to residents .
'We cannot continue to sustain the city when property owners and businesses fail to meet us halfway,' he said.
He added that businesses who generate profit should pay for the services they are using.
'Some buildings are taken over and others we are unable to identify their owners and it leads to an impact on City Power because such properties will connect to the network illegally leading to overloading of electricity,' Mangena said.
Region F is the highest debtor region with R244m debt. The debt collection is aimed at revenue recovery and ensuring the municipality's financial sustainability.
'Marshaltown has 70 accounts with R93m debt, Fordsburg has 93 accounts with R65m debt and Doornfontein has 56 accounts with R86m debt. All of these accounts have been prioritised for disconnection this week to recover the money', Sekwaila said.
Sekwaila added that the collection would be handled in two phases through to December.
'Phase 1 will end by July and phase 2 starts in August. This brings residents time to comply with us and urgently make arrangements to pay their accounts,' he added.
A manager of a building providing student accommodation, Collen Sibiya, was shocked to discover that the property owes R2.4m for electricity.
Sibiya said he was not aware of the amount and it would be an inconvenience for the students who live in the building.
'
.
'According to the documents I have, our account is in order and we do pay on time. I am just surprised that we were supposed to pay for the previous owner's account.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

City Power refutes claims its headquarters raided by Hawks
City Power refutes claims its headquarters raided by Hawks

The Citizen

time10 hours ago

  • The Citizen

City Power refutes claims its headquarters raided by Hawks

Reports emerged the Hawks are probing City Power for alleged corruption and financial mismanagement totalling more than R500 million. City Power has refuted claims that its headquarters were raided by the Hawks. This comes after reports emerged on Friday that the crime-fighting unit raided City Power's Johannesburg headquarters as part of an investigation into alleged corruption and financial mismanagement involving irregular payments and inflated contracts totalling more than R500 million. Alleged corruption According to the reports, City Power's executive management is also being investigated for allegedly allowing more than R335 million to be looted from its maintenance budget in six months – from May 2023 to October of that year – on frivolous purchases that included air fresheners, pens, trolley mops and copper cables that officers claim were not delivered. ALSO READ: City Power employees among seven arrested for copper theft Hawks raid City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena confirmed that the Directorate of Investigating Priority Crimes also known as the Hawks visited its premises to deliver a formal request for information about the business. 'There was no raid, no confiscation of documents, files, or IT equipment. And there was no interrogation. 'We can, however, confirm that members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) did visit City Power and delivered a formal request for information (RFI) to the business,' Mangena said. Mangena said City Power will cooperate fully with this 'lawful request' by the Hawks. Internal control processes Last year, the Auditor-General's report into City Power's affairs flagged its internal control processes. The report recommended an investigation, which was concluded in March 2025. City Power's investigation revealed collusion between employees and service providers, serious breaches in procurement and payment processes, fraudulent job numbers, and duplicate approvals. This led to City Power suffering significant financial losses. ALSO READ: City Power achieves unqualified audit, hits 75% of targets Dismissals The power utility has since dismissed guilty employees and laid criminal complaints. 'Out of all cases that have already been finalised and those that are still ongoing, we discovered that 12 electricians, eight security officers, five team leaders, and several senior managers had been implicated in serious criminal conduct such as cable theft, fraud and soliciting bribe,' City Power said. 'While we are aggressively fighting the scourge of theft and vandalism, we discovered that several employees, including team leaders, electricians and even our own contracted security officers, were involved in stealing and destroying essential infrastructure. 'We have also uncovered that the challenge we have been battling with surrounding the shortages of materials was not only related to heightened demand for replacement equipment, but that our own employees were simply handing these tools to contractors from the stores and supposedly benefiting from those transactions,' the utility said. ALSO READ: City Power and Joburg have not paid debt to Eskom, Ramokgopa says [VIDEO]

Hawks probe City Power contract payments
Hawks probe City Power contract payments

eNCA

time12 hours ago

  • eNCA

Hawks probe City Power contract payments

JOHANNESBURG - The Hawks has visited the offices of Johannesburg's power utility. The move is reportedly part of an ongoing probe into allegations of corruption at City Power. The Hawks is looking into three questionable payments to contractors. READ: Heads 'will roll' as City Power uncovers internal fraud syndicate And some of the payments in question were inflated. City Power's executives allegedly approved the payments amounting to about R500-million. But the utility insists that there was not a raid, but rather a formal visit to inquire about the business.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store