Tshwane Ya Tima targets businesses as part of plan to tackle R29bn debtors
Tshwane says when businesses fail to pay their municipal bills, the metro is unable to finance its service delivery agenda.
Tshwane has targeted businesses and government facilities this month to carry out a debt collection operation in the CBD and Pretoria West.
The debt collection falls under Tshwane Ya Tima, which has been prioritised to ensure financial sustainability.
Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya said she has called on businesses to settle their municipal bills as part of measures to tackle the city’s R29-billion debtors’ book.
She said this is consistent with the Multiparty Coalition Government’s priority to ensure financial sustainability.
“On Monday, March 10, I joined the city’s Group Financial Services to carry out a debt collection operation in the Pretoria CBD and Pretoria West. The debt collection operation yielded over R13-million in a single day.
“The operation focused on five businesses that owed the city a combined total of over R18-million.”
She said a well-known hotel operating in the CBD owed the city more than R1.4-million for electricity and was disconnected from the grid for a second time. It had failed to honour its debt arrangements with the city’s Group Financial Services in the past.
We have a debtors book that stretches to R29 billion that we need to tackle. The manager at the Sheraton Hotel says a payment can be made immediately. We don’t take chances so we switched them off. #TshwaneYaTima @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/wKJkbVracx
— Dr Nasiphi Moya (@nasiphim) March 10, 2025
“In Arcadia, a property that houses a grocery store was disconnected for an outstanding debt of R7 343 502. The owners of the property settled part of the debt, R5 245 977, and a payment arrangement [was made] for the remaining amount.”
She said their third stop for the disconnection operation was a visit to an office park located on Francis Baard Street.
While we were conducting #TshwaneYaTima, we found several cars that were illegally parked on the pavement near Church Square. Our trusted TMPD teams joined us to clear up our pavements and make it easier for pedestrians to walk. @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/Dxpwpk06L2
— Dr Nasiphi Moya (@nasiphim) March 10, 2025
“The property had debt totalling R5 917 109. The owners paid R6 513 022. Another transgressor was a property located on Helen Joseph Street, which owed the City R2 177 334.
“The property owners managed to pay R350 000, while our teams were on site, however, this amount was not enough.”
She added that in Pretoria West, a firm had an outstanding debt of R1 192 242, which was settled the same day.
#TshwaneYaTima third stop is Bothongo Plaza on Francis Baard Street. The owners of this building owe us R5,917,109.11. We warned a person not to use the elevator because we were about to switch off the electricity supply. @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/rrSwCIjKhm
— Dr Nasiphi Moya (@nasiphim) March 10, 2025
“Another firm located in Pretoria West had an outstanding debt of R1 409 456. The city’s financial stability is priority number one in the multiparty government’s turnaround plan.”
She said the metro needs to increase its revenue collection to enable sustained service delivery to residents.
“When businesses and residents fail to honour their municipal bills, we are unable to finance our service delivery agenda.
“We encourage businesses to settle their debt in full or by approaching the city for a payment arrangement to avoid disconnection.”
We are back with another #TshwaneYaTima operation targeting businesses that do not pay their municipal bills. First stop is the Sheraton Hotel which owes R1,418,109.42 for electricity. We’ve switched the hotel off many times before, but they still refuse to honour their payment… pic.twitter.com/pq39E03WP7
— Dr Nasiphi Moya (@nasiphim) March 10, 2025
She also said the Tshwane Ya Tima operations would continue to gain momentum in the coming weeks.
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