City of Tshwane to cut SANDF navy office electricity over ‘unpaid rates’

City of Tshwane officials arrived at the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) navy offices on Wednesday to cut off the electricity supply because of more than R3m in allegedly unpaid property rates.

Posting photographs of the premises on Twitter, the city said it was owed R3.19m.

“When we say, 'no fear, no favour', we mean it,” the city tweeted, adding the slogan Tswane ya tima — Tshwane switches off.

TimesLIVE contacted SANDF spokesperson Brig-Gen Andries Mokoena Mahapa, who could not immediately comment, saying he was unaware of the move by the city. He said he would provide an update after making inquiries.

The city is embarking on an “aggressive revenue collection” drive aimed at clawing back R17bn owed by customers.

It said the huge debt affected its capacity for service delivery.

Giving a breakdown of the debt, the city said residents owed R8bn, businesses R4bn, and the government and embassies R5bn for rates, water or electricity.

Other than the SANDF premises, the city has also cut off power to Morning Star Express Hotel, alleging it has an outstanding bill of more than R500,000.

This is a developing story.

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