All expect one elected Ward councillor in Alexandra do not pay for electricity, fuelling local non-compliance
City Power will launch a broader enforcement drive that will target and disconnect outstanding official accounts.
City Power has sounded the alarm over councillors in Alexandra who are failing to pay for electricity, revealing that only one is compliant.
Speaking at a business customers’ engagement event in Alexandra on June 2, spokesperson Isaac Mangena said councillors must practise what they preach. While councillors urge residents to buy electricity, Mangena revealed that most are not paying themselves.
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“One of the issues we want councillors to assist with is revenue collection to ensure that residents are actually buying their electricity. But you cannot have councillors preaching payment when they are not practising it,” Mangena said.
He added that the utility has identified councillors who are not purchasing electricity and will begin disconnections from early next week. “We know them, we know their addresses, and that is why we are going to ensure they are disconnected. When we say ‘practise what we preach,’ we mean it.”
Mangena said they are not only going to act against those in Alexandra, but they will also act against those who are non-compliant across the city of Johannesburg.
“We are going to start doing audits across Johannesburg. Some councillors are not supporting City Power or the municipality. By not buying electricity, you are stealing from the municipality and government, and you are breaking the very laws you make in council.”
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Chair of chairs in the city of Johannesburg, Adolph Marema, reinforced the warning, saying councillors are bound by a strict code of conduct. “Councillors are governed by ethics statutes at the national and municipal levels. One of the rules is that you are not allowed to owe the municipality for more than 90 days without an arrangement,” he said.
He added that it is even worse when people steal electricity from the municipality. “That is a dismissal offence. It is criminal,” he said, adding that people cannot speak about the losses the municipality incurs in revenue collection when they are not contributing to that revenue.
“Lead by example. Do the right thing,” he urged.
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