Sandton filling station begins settling its multimillion-rand water bill

A Sandton fuel station has begun paying off its multimillion-rand water bill owed to the City of Johannesburg.

The station was busted last week by members of Operation Buya Mthetho after the City had received a tip-off that the owners of the property were illegally connected to the City’s water supply.

The filling station currently owes the City a whopping R13m. On Wednesday, the company paid off R3m of its debt.

Member of Mayoral Committee for Finance, Funzela Ngobeni said on Thursday he was pleased with the latest development.

“Yesterday, the City received an initial payment of R3 million towards that debt, with another tranche of R3 million expected to be paid on November 7. We have advised the owners of the filling station to sign an Acknowledgement of Debt with the City to pay off the balance of R7 million, once the subsequent payment of R3 million is received,” said Ngobeni.

Despite efforts to settle their bill, water will remain disconnected to the filling station.

“Moving forward, the City will insist that the owners of the filling station continue paying their current bill on a monthly basis. In the meantime, the filling station’s water supply remains disconnected,” said Ngobeni.

He promised that the City would continue enforcing compliance with its by-laws and to ensure that customers pay for services rendered.

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