Johannesburg - A businessman has been arrested for illegally connecting his business to both water and electricity supplies, according to the City of Joburg.
The City says it has also shut down the supply at Leeuwkop Prison because it owes close to R10 million for water.
According to the city, the Roodepoort businessman, who ran a glass-making business, was arrested by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department officers at his business premises in Stormhill on Friday afternoon.
“This was part of a sting operation against businesses that are illegally connected to the City’s services. The establishment owes the City more than R6.4m for water and electricity services. The multifaceted Credit Control drive was led by the City manager Floyd Brink, the Revenue Department, City Power, Joburg Water and JMPD across the city,” read a city statement.
The city has warned those who continually connect illegally to its water and electricity services, tamper with, or vandalise its critical infrastructure that they will face arrest.
The City’s group chief financial officer, Tebogo Moraka, said the City’s current debtors’ book was sitting at close to R47 billion for rates and taxes, sewer, electricity and water, which is unsustainable.
Moraka said the Credit Control operation that apprehended the man was just the start of many more to come.
“We are aggressively pursuing those customers who owe us and are not coming forward to settle their growing debt, nor come forward to sign the Acknowledgment of debt and plead their case. We have no choice but to switch off our services to those not coming forward to pay their arrear debt,” said Moraka.
Moraka added that the disconnection of services would also focus on large defaulters and government departments in a bid to recover the outstanding debt.
He said this week the City would be hot on the heels of 10 of the worst defaulters, which include a hotel, large residential estates and panel-beating businesses that collectively owe the City more than a whopping R104m for unpaid services.
The Star