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City Power has called on councillors and public servants to lead by example and pay their municipal accounts on time.
Last week, top City of Johannesburg officials appeared before parliament’s standing committee on public accounts.
At that meeting, the city’s CFO Tebogo Moraka revealed that councillors collectively owed the municipality about R2m.
According to City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena, the utility was owed about R660,000 in arrears at the end of April by accounts linked to councillors.
The power utility said the debt was spread across 15 postpaid accounts.
The call is part of City Power’s broader revenue campaign aimed at improving payment compliance and securing funds needed to maintain and upgrade the city’s electricity infrastructure.
City Power’s acting CEO Charles Tlouane said public representatives have a responsibility to demonstrate the same standards they expect from residents.
“Non-payment, even when arrangements are in place, contributes to the same revenue challenges that affect network maintenance, upgrades and the ability to provide reliable electricity to all residents and businesses.”
He added that public leaders who settle their accounts promptly and in full each month strengthen the credibility of revenue collection campaigns and reinforce public trust.
It sends a powerful message that compliance is a shared civic duty, not merely an expectation placed on ordinary customers
— City Power’s acting CEO, Charles Tlouane
“It sends a powerful message that compliance is a shared civic duty, not merely an expectation placed on ordinary customers,” said Tlouane.
According to Mangena, the utility currently services 48 accounts for councillors, 15 of them are on post bill, 33 use prepaid electricity, while 31 councillors receive electricity directly from Eskom.
He also pointed out that some councillors may not appear as account holders as they live in rented properties, sectional title developments or homes where accounts are not registered in their names.
Mangena stressed that all customers are treated equally under the City of Johannesburg’s credit control policy and that no special exemptions are granted to elected officials.
He encouraged councillors to review their accounts, enter into payment arrangements where necessary and consider migrating to smart metering systems to improve billing accuracy and network planning.
Mangena said improved revenue collection is critical to reducing outages, strengthening infrastructure and ensuring sustainable service delivery across Johannesburg.
He urged customers experiencing financial difficulties to make payment arrangements through municipal service centres, and report illegal electricity reconnections through its fraud and reporting channels by calling 011 490 7900 or sending a WhatsApp text to 083 579 4497.
TimesLIVE
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