The City of Tshwane has vowed to continue with its intensified revenue collection campaign, known as Tshwane Ya Tima, aimed at recovering money owed to the municipality.
The city launched the latest phase of the drive on Friday in an effort to recoup outstanding electricity bills amounting to approximately R2 billion from major defaulters, including State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and national government departments.
Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Utility Services, France Boshielo, said the campaign is not intended to embarrass defaulters but to ensure that services provided by the municipality are paid for.
“We are not doing this programme to embarrass any department. We are encouraging them to cooperate with us to ensure their debt is settled. We are owed at least R2 billion by various government departments, and this is a programme we will continue. Next week, all MMCs will be on the ground to collect what is due to the City of Tshwane,” Boshielo said.
As part of the campaign, the city disconnected electricity supply to several government entities with outstanding accounts. These included the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) offices in Pretoria Central, which owe R4.3 million, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Academy in Pretoria West, with an outstanding bill of R3.8 million, and the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Facility, which owes close to R8 million. The Department of Employment and Labour was also visited.
Boshielo said all the affected departments acknowledged their outstanding debts and committed to settling their accounts.
“We encourage more departments, especially those receiving services from our Public Works unit, to come forward and make arrangements with our finance division. These funds are critical to ensuring the continued rollout of services to communities across the city,” he said.
He further advised SOEs and government departments that are unable to settle their accounts in full to approach the city to make payment arrangements.
