The debt collection campaign disconnected water and electricity at an alleged Hatfield brothel over millions in municipal arrears.
he Tshwane ya Tima project is intensifying its crackdown on businesses and institutions with unpaid municipal accounts, including alleged illegal brothels. Picture: iStock
The City of Tshwane’s hard‑hitting Tshwane ya Tima debt‑collection drive is showing no mercy.
Its latest raids saw officials cut services and slap fines on yet another alleged illegal brothel, highlighting the campaign’s uncompromising approach to arrears enforcement.
Alleged Hatfield brothel disconnected over municipal arrears
The crackdown is part of a wider arrears enforcement drive that has already seen the Tshwane ya Tima project target hospitals, police stations, schools and correctional facilities.
By cutting services and issuing fines across the board, the city is signalling that no institution or business – whether public or private, legal or illicit – will be spared if it fails to meet its municipal obligations.
Community safety Hannes Coetzee MMC said on Wednesday officials found several violations at Flamingo adult entertainment club in Hatfield – from illegal water connections and R3.2 million in municipal arrears to zoning breaches, missing building plans and fire safety failures.
The alleged brothel was fined, served with prohibition notices and its water and electricity cut off.
Shopping centre and government offices not spared
On the same day, mayor Nasiphi Moya joined the Tshwane ya Tima team at Willows Crossing Shopping Centre in Die Wilgers, where Flowing Stream Investments was disconnected over R833 000 in municipal arrears.
The team also disconnected electricity at the department of social development on Pretorius Street in the CBD.
Tshwane mayoral spokesperson Zintle Mahlati said both accounts have since been paid.
Crackdown on brothels
In June, Moya and her team turned their focus to Sunnyside, shutting down the K20 Hotel on Lilian Ngoyi Street.
Officials discovered 40 rooms operating as an alleged brothel, with women reportedly charged R4 000 a month to rent a room.
Other alleged brothels shut down this year include Ipi Ntombi Sports Bar, where officials found 41 makeshift rooms, price lists for sexual services and unauthorised extensions; the K20 Hotel, a 54‑room establishment operating illegally; and the Savoy VIP Lounge, where metro police uncovered an alleged brothel behind its sports bar façade.
Prof Witness Maluleke, head of criminal justice at the University of Limpopo, said illegal brothels remain widespread across South Africa, with Pretoria no exception.
He described the trade as a lucrative, increasingly organised enterprise that is largely ignored.
