Non-paying and defaulting Joburg customers owe City Power close to R10 billion, the Member of the Mayoral Committee Environment and Infrastructure Services Jack Sekwaila told journalists during the entity’s disconnection campaign at hijacked buildings in Jeppestown on Wednesday.
Sekwaila was accompanied by MMC for Public Safety Dr. Mgcini Tshwaku.
Sekwaila said the metro has a target plan to collect about R4.7 billion every month until all the money owed is recovered. Currently he said they are sitting at R3,7 billion and failing to recover more money will affect the City’s budget.
“We are here as a follow- up of last week because we got a feeling there is a resistance. If people have the guts to chase City officials, we can’t allow that anarchy to happen in our country, not in the City of Johannesburg, maybe elsewhere,” he said.
Sekwaila said they were targeting eight hijacked buildings in Jeppestown but were not be able to disconnect all of them. He pointed out that one of the buildings that they disconnected last week was reconnected on Wednesday, but the technicians cut the electricity supply again.
“Due to time frames, we will not be able to disconnect all eight buildings. Last week we targeted four but this week we wanted to double that number,” he said.
Sekwaila said other matters like e-hailing drivers’ march and the fire that broke out in the inner city on Wednesday, said to be from SARS, could not allow them to finish disconnecting.
