Sandton targeted for switchoff as Joburg follows Tshwane's hardball tactics

The iconic Sandton City mall was among the buildings targeted as Johannesburg began Operation Buya Mthetho on Wednesday.

This comes hot on the heels of the ongoing Tshwane disconnection blitz, which resulted in businesses and government entities having their water and lights cut off and subsequently paying off their huge services debts.

Johannesburg is aiming to claw back R38bn in unpaid bills.

City spokesperson Mabine Seabe said the biggest debt in Sandton was that of the Sandton City shopping mall, which owed R158m.

Preston Gaddy, general manager of Sandton City and Nelson Mandela Square, said that the mall's owners were “aware of the social media comments relating to the drive embarked on by the City of Johannesburg to terminate services to properties that are in any arrears”.

“Sandton City's municipal accounts are all up to date except that there is currently a dispute with the City of Johannesburg regarding the rates & taxes for the centre. Sandton City and the City of Johannesburg have agreed to hold over legal proceedings instituted by the City of Johannesburg in respect of outstanding rates and taxes pending the finalisation of the Valuation Appeal Board hearing to determine the correct valuation of Sandton City for rates purposes.

“The centre is trading as normal,” Gaddy said.

Wednesday's operations focused on Johannesburg's region E, which includes Sandton.

According the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs' Johannesburg metro profile, region E is the most economically prominent region, but has vast contradictions.

“On one hand it hosts the ‘champagne north’, with its anchor being the financial hub of Sandton, the richest square mile in Africa. On the other hand it has SA’s oldest and poorest township area, Alexandra.”

The profile states that finance — including the JSE — retail and warehousing are the core of the area's economy.

Operation Buya Mthetho, meaning “bring back the law”, had mayor Mpho Phalatse join the campaign, accompanied by MMC for safety David Tembe, MMC for environment and infrastructure services Michael Sun, MMC for finance Julie Suddaby and officials and personnel from the Johannesburg metro police department, City Power and Group Forensic and Investigation Services.

Phalatse said she made no apologies for wanting to build a city “that is, among other things, well-run, safe and business-friendly”.

The reality, she said, is that doing so costs money, even if the best people are elected or appointed.

“Yesterday [Tuesday] we completed the process of appointing the boards of Joburg’s 13 municipal entities, which include Joburg Water, City Power, Pikitup and the Johannesburg Development Agency.

“These agencies are responsible for delivering services to the residents of Joburg efficiently and at a reasonable cost, and while I have full confidence in these entities and their boards I know that without the necessary funding they will struggle to realise their service delivery obligations.

“Filling potholes, fixing taps and keeping residents safe is only possible when residents play their part by paying their bills on time,” she said.

The R38bn owed by residents, business and government makes up more than half the 2021/2022 budget of more than R73bn.

“Imagine if the city had 50% more revenue it could use for capital projects that could bring an end to rolling blackouts in the city ... be used to build substance abuse facilities and clinics ... used to deploy more JMPD officers and keep residents safe. Imagine what could be possible.

“So, when I ask you to imagine a city that delivers, works, is safe and offers great opportunities, I am asking you to imagine what is possible.”

The Buya Mthetho campaign began two weeks ago to warn municipal account holders “who ignore our pleas and demands to pay their bills on time”.

“When we terminate services today [Wednesday], it should come as little to no surprise to the account holders, given that we have sent pre-termination notices in one form or another, warning them of their debt to the municipality and the promise to cut them off.”

While the city acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic and the July unrest had an effect on the finances of businesses and individuals, “we will not accept municipal account holders who have the means to pay not doing so.

“We are reopening the debt rehabilitation programme to help residents who are genuinely struggling to pay their municipal bills and we encourage residents to apply.

“The culture of nonpayment must be remedied and one such remedy is to take the drastic but necessary step of cutting off services,” Phalatse said.

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