Pretoria - The City of Tshwane cannot afford to keep subsidising its debtors at the expense of services and its financial wellness.
These were the unwavering messages by mayor Randall Williams and acting city manager Mmaseabata Mutlaneng yesterday.
They were leading the second day of the aggressive campaign to disconnect water and electricity supply to businesses and government departments in debt with the City.
Williams stood firm as business managers tried to plead with him not to disconnect their electricity and water. He said that the culture of non-payment in Tshwane had created an unsustainable problem and a ballooning debt of R17 billion owed to the City.
Williams said it was not acceptable that business and government departments were making sporadic payments, but continuing to consume more than they paid on a monthly basis.
Tshwane mayor Randall Williams involved in a blow-by-blow exchange with Sheraton Hotel manager, Pascal Fouquet as the City cut water and electricity to various businesses who have not paid bills. @SheratonPta #Sheraton @Eskom_SA #Water #Electricity pic.twitter.com/KQJpEqLJmI
— Pretoria News (@pretorianews) February 9, 2022
He said the City owed Eskom R635 million but the metro was paying its suppliers like Rand Water and Magalies Water irrespective of hardships. However, it was not making the money back because businesses were holding back R5bn due to the City.
At the Sheraton Hotel, manager Pascal Fouquet pleaded for leniency as the hotel owed the City R23m for water, electricity and rates.
Fouquet said: “The last two years we have not been making money because of Covid-19. We tried to make arrangements with the City, but what they want we cannot afford to pay. If you do this then what happens to the people who need their jobs?”
Williams said: “Businesses in the City owe us more than R5bn. Residents owe more than R8bn, and if you look at government departments and embassies, they owe us more than R1.3bn. We are going after all our debtors because they have an obligation to pay. You cannot consume for free.”
Asked if the businesses were not raising a valid point that they could not afford to pay because of Covid-19, and that they also needed water and electricity to remain active and save jobs, Williams said the City would go easy on businesses which approached and made payment arrangements because consuming without paying was just not a sustainable option.
“The City is in a financial crisis. We need to get all the revenue in. You can see service delivery is falling. We have less money to fix street lights, less money to fix potholes.
“This needs to change, and if you look at what has been happening all around the world businesses have adapted. South African businesses will also have to adapt according to the business circumstances.
“They cannot just say ‘because there is Covid-19, for us it is business as usual; the City must just subsidise us,” Williams added. Businesses and government buildings including Tacora Investment Lakeview Business Park, Club Crossing Shopping Centre and Lakefield Business Park were cut yesterday.
Pretoria News