City Power fires employees, suspends several managers

City Power has let go of nine workers and suspended several managers on various charges.

Among those dismissed are five employees and four participants of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).

The employees face charges ranging from theft to fraud, negligence and dishonesty.

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They were part of 47 disciplinary cases processed between March 2024 and March 2025.

While some workers have been suspended and dismissed, others were given final written warnings. Some are still awaiting the outcome of their disciplinary cases from the presiding officers.

“These measures have been taken in response to the quality of services, which has not been to the standard we have set for ourselves, despite notable improvements in the past two years,” said spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

“As City Power, our primary role is to provide electricity for the residents of Johannesburg in line with the City’s objective of creating a conducive environment for social and economic development.

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“While we have made significant strides towards that objective, there are areas where we fell short, owing to the rampant theft and vandalism of our essential infrastructure and, in certain areas, shoddy workmanship.”

City Power said it had become clear that those responsible for destroying infrastructure for personal gain were part of well-coordinated groups, which may have involved its employees.

City Power investigations

Last year, the Auditor-General’s report into City Power’s affairs flagged its internal control processes.

The report recommended an investigation, which was concluded last month. City Power’s investigation revealed collusion between employees and service providers, serious breaches in procurement and payment processes, fraudulent job numbers, and duplicate approvals.

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This led to City Power suffering significant financial losses.

The power utility has since dismissed guilty employees and laid criminal complaints.

“Out of all cases that have already been finalised and those that are still ongoing, we discovered that 12 electricians, eight security officers, five team leaders, and several senior managers had been implicated in serious criminal conduct such as cable theft, fraud and soliciting bribe,” said City Power.

“While we are aggressively fighting the scourge of theft and vandalism, we discovered that several employees, including team leaders, electricians and even our own contracted security officers, were involved in stealing and destroying essential infrastructure.

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“We have also uncovered that the challenge we have been battling with surrounding the shortages of materials was not only related to heightened demand for replacement equipment, but that our own employees were simply handing these tools to contractors from the stores and supposedly benefiting from those transactions.”

Bribes

City Power said its other challenge was its employees soliciting bribes from customers. This has hampered the utility’s efforts to collect revenue.

Two electricians were arrested in the Joburg CBD for soliciting a bribe from a customer to avoid a disconnection.

The customer reported the matter to the police, and a sting operation was organised, which led to their arrest. The pair has been dismissed, and criminal charges opened.

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“We wish to send a strong message against other employees and contractors that we will take no prisoners in dealing with those involved in demanding bribes from customers in exchange for not effecting disconnections,” warned City Power.

“We also caution customers who willingly pay bribes that such conduct amounts to criminal offence. While we applaud the customer who reported the two electricians who attempt to solicit a bribe, we would like to warn others to desist from making such payments because they could face criminal prosecution.”