Debt recovery by the metro has fuelled a public dispute with national institutions, Department of Correctional Services (DCS), the National Library and the Agricultural Research Council’s Onderstepoort facility, over billing accuracy, communication, and enforcement.

At the centre of the controversy is the metro’s Tshwane Ya Tima revenue collection campaign, which aims to recover billions of rand allegedly owed by government departments.

While the metro maintains that the campaign is necessary to stabilise municipal finances, affected institutions argue that the approach has been heavy-handed, inaccurate and publicly damaging.

The sharpest response has come from the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), which said it feels deliberately singled out by the metro after repeated public claims that electricity would be cut off at correctional facilities.

On January 23, DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said following an attempted electricity disconnection at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre, ‘the metro got it wrong again’.

According to the department, the metro’s actions were based on an incorrect account statement.

He described the incident as humiliating and unnecessary, particularly given the sensitivity of correctional facilities.

According to him, city officials withdrew after their billing error was pointed out by correctional services managers and no electricity disconnection took place.

Nxumalo said the incident highlighted a lack of basic verification before drastic enforcement action was taken.

“The apparent eagerness to disconnect electricity, particularly at a critical national facility such as a correctional centre, without confirming the accuracy of billing information raises serious questions about the city’s administrative processes and intentions,” he said.

DCS further argued that repeated public references to the department created the impression that it was being deliberately targeted.

“The continued fixation on the Department of Correctional Services by the City of Tshwane, particularly on incorrect grounds, creates the impression of a deliberate attempt to discredit the department,” Nxumalo said.

The department also raised concerns about national security implications, stating that reckless public statements about correctional facilities could undermine confidence in institutions responsible for public safety.

Earlier, on January 15, DCS had already condemned what it described as deliberate misinformation by the metro regarding an alleged electricity cut-off at its head office in the city centre.

Similar tensions surfaced at the Agricultural Research Council’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Research facility, where electricity supply was temporarily interrupted last week amid claims of outstanding municipal debt.

The council confirmed to Rekord that power had been restored and that operations continued uninterrupted, stressing that contingency systems worked as intended.

“The Agricultural Research Council confirms that power supply has been fully restored and that all research activities and laboratory operations are continuing without interruption,” spokesperson Joy Peter said.

She said backup systems ensured that no critical research was affected during the interruption.

“When electricity was temporarily interrupted, our contingency systems immediately engaged, ensuring that all critical research operations continued without disruption. Work did not stop at any point, and our laboratories remained fully operational throughout the outage,” Peter said.

While the council engaged the metro to clarify the circumstances of the interruption, it cautioned against the public drawing conclusions before verification processes were concluded.

It emphasised its legal status as a Chapter 9 public institution that manages its own financial affairs, despite reporting to the Department of Agriculture.

“Regarding the matters raised on social media, the ARC has engaged with the City of Tshwane and will continue to do so until any amounts allegedly outstanding are resolved. Until this verification process is concluded, the ARC is not in a position to confirm or comment on those unpaid debt claims,” Peter said.

She confirmed that it was business as usual and that electricity had been fully restored.

The National Library of South Africa (NLSA) has also condemned the metro after its Pretoria branch in the CBD was left without electricity for four days following a disconnection during the metro’s Tshwane Ya Tima operation on January 15.

Despite this, electricity was only restored on January 20. The NLSA said the outage disrupted essential research and library services and forced reliance on costly generator power to protect national heritage collections.

The library also criticised public statements by the mayor suggesting it owed about R1-million, a claim it ‘categorically rejects’, calling for accurate communication and fair administration.

The metro, however, has defended its actions as part of a broader and necessary drive to recover government debt.

MMC for Human Settlements Alderman Aaron Maluleka said the Tshwane Ya Tima campaign focused on ensuring that electricity users, such as state departments, met their financial obligations to the city.

He said several government institutions had acknowledged their debts and committed to settling what was owed.

He stressed that the campaign was to encourage accountability.

“We are not doing this to embarrass any department but want to motivate those departments,” he said, adding that government departments collectively owed the metro about R2-billion.

Maluleka said the metro had repeatedly called on state institutions to engage constructively with the city’s finance department.

“We encouraged state departments to come forward and work with our Department of Finance,” he said.

According to Maluleka, the revenue collection drive would continue and intensify, with mayoral committee members taking to the ground to recover outstanding payments from January 26.

“This is a programme that we will continue to do. From the 26th, all MMCs are on the ground to collect what is due to the City of Tshwane,” he said.

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