Tshwane cuts power to SARS headquarters over R838,000 electricity bill

The City of Tshwane has cut off its electricity supply to the South African Revenue Service (Sars) head office in Bronkhorst Street in Pretoria over unpaid electricity bills amounting to R838,000.

The municipality announced the disconnection in a post on Twitter/X on Tuesday, 16 April 2024.

“When you think we are here for a refund… BOOM, your lights are off. #SARS owes us 838 k #TshwaneYaTima,” it said.

Tshwane Ya Time is a revenue-collection programme that the metro reactivated in the face of mountain financial difficulties.

The City of Tshwane is struggling to keep contractor, supplier, and worker accounts, among others, up to date.

The campaign hopes to recoup nearly R6 billion in debt built up by its customers during the first half of 2024.

When you think we are here for a refund…, BOOM, your lights are off. #SARS owes us 838 k #TshwaneYaTima pic.twitter.com/XoAt3YEZf6

— City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) April 16, 2024

Business and residential customers failing to pay what they owe to the City of Tshwane has landed the metro in hot water on several occasions over the past two years.

South Africa’s state-owned power utility, Eskom, threatened to take the City of Tshwane to court in June 2023 over unpaid bills amounting to R1.9 billion.

Eskom said it didn’t have the capacity to continue to supply bulk power to the City of Tshwane without receiving the necessary payments, adding that it had engaged with the city on several occasions.

According to Tshwane’s MMC for finance, Jacqui Uys, the city’s debt to Eskom had grown to R2.9 billion, of which the city paid R1.23 billion during March.

Uys said the city is finalising a project management office that will oversee the metro’s debt collection value chain, including issuing summonses and attaching property.

“Tshwane Ya Tima is a campaign that is being institutionalised in the metro to ensure credit control actions to ultimately lead to reaching cash targets. Thus all income in the city is linked or related to Tshwane Ya Tima,” she told Rekord.

City of Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba confirmed that the metro made a debt settlement proposal to South Africa’s power utility Eskom.

“Tshwane owes Eskom R2.9 billion as of 31 March and has made a payment proposal which they have rejected,” Bokaba told Rekord.

“We will continue to engage with them on the matter. We are committed to paying Eskom the amount we owe them.”