BY: MASHUDU MAGADU
Tshwane municipality Orchards, north of Pretoria was cut off from the electricity grid as TshwaneYatima continued its mission to recoup monies owed by big defaulters.
According to mayoral spokesperson Sipho Stuurman, the metro focused on residential estates that had previously been difficult to access. “We immediately disconnected them and issued fines to the household and offenders,a customer at Nkwe Estate was fined R27 600.” said Sipho Stuurman.
“It’s important that residents understand electricity theft is a crime and the metro will institute legal action where necessary. About eight customers immediately paid penalty fees. This tells us that we are dealing with a culture of non-payment, you look at the cars outside these homes, and they will tell you that these people can afford it, they just refuse to pay. Well, that’s coming to an end, the metro is coming after all non-payers,” he added.
Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink discouraged the culture of non-payment, saying residents
had to pay for services consumed. “The city needs revenue to deliver services and honors its commitments to Eskom and Rand Water.” Customers are urged to settle their arrears to ensure continued service supply. TshwaneYatima recently reported that Tshwane is yet to reach its revenue target this month after collecting only 80% of the R6.2-billion it had set itself.
