West residents have mixed reactions to city’s YaTima drive

The TshwaneYaTima drive has had property owners on edge as more account holders in arrears are having their electricity or water disconnected.

The metro has been leading drives across Tshwane in recent weeks that have garnered much attention, the latest of which was the drive led by mayor Cilliers Brink this week.

The team led by the mayor completed electricity disconnections worth R53.1 million and water restrictions and disconnections worth R13.2 million in various areas of the city on March 12.

This included two businesses in Pretoria West, which had tampered with their meters and owe the city a combined R6.3 million.

“We continue to observe many illegal connections from defaulting clients who run up high service bills and fail to pay the city. The Tshwane Ya Tima team will be monitoring these areas after the cut-off operations and ensure that those who illegally reconnect face the music. Illegal connections are a criminal offence and the city will use Section 300 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act 51 of 1977) to go after offenders and claim compensation,” Brink had said.

He thanked residents who pay for their services, stating that they enable improved service delivery. He also encouraged residents who are struggling to keep up with their payments to make payment arrangements at any of the metro’s customer care centres instead of waiting for the city to disconnect their service.

The drive followed up last week’s effort led by city manager Johann Mettler and MMCs for finance and human settlements, Jacqui Uys and Ofentse Madzebatela. The revenue collection campaign which started in 2021 is a drive to disconnect the electric power of defaulting clients who run up high service bills and fail to pay their monthly invoices.

“We need to stop the culture of non-payment as everyone must pay for what they consume. The city needs revenue to deliver services and to honour commitments to creditors such as Eskom and Rand Water. We are firm in our stance that the financial rescue of the city is non-negotiable, therefore, every effort must be made to restore the city to a financially healthy position as quickly as possible,” Brink added.

Rekord asked Pretoria West residents what their take on the drive was and if it would help the area in the long run.

“TshwaneYaTima is effective in ensuring that consumers pay for services and I’m grateful to the team for holding residents accountable. It is a valuable component in saving our beautiful city,” said ward 54 councillor, Elma Nel.

“Tshwane Ya Tima is an important part of the mayor’s financial rescue plan for the city. We thank people who have paid their accounts and urge those who have not done so to please settle their accounts or make payment arrangements. The city purchases electricity and water from bulk suppliers and we need those who use these services to pay for usage in order for us to settle our accounts,” said ward 55 councillor, Yvonne Dzumba.

“Illegal connections are not the answer… it will only land you in hot water and an extra fine of approximately R26 000 for a residential property and with a commercial property even more of these fines will be added to your account if you are caught stealing or having tampered with the Tshwane infrastructure. What residents don’t realise is that if they don’t pay their utility bills, the city also struggles to pay suppliers and won’t be able to deliver those necessary essential services needed by its residents,” said ward 1 councillor, Leon Kruyshaar.

“For me, I think it’s going to be hard to implement because the government has properties and also owes the city a lot of money but it is a good thing that they stand up against these people who owe a lot of money,” said Hercules resident, Johan Cloete.

While some believe the effort is to the benefit of the city, others believe they are being unfairly targeted by the metro.

“There is no way to implement TshwaneYaTima until we address the real issues. We want Tshwane to scrap guesstimated bills first, how cruel are these people? They need to think about the poorest of the poor, the child-headed households and pensioners who are earning as little as R2 000 but can be billed R3 000. Before they start this, Tshwane must think twice,” said Atteridgeville resident, Caroline Mahlangu.

“Who disconnects residents during load-shedding? If the mayor attends the community meetings, surely he will understand the residents’ grievances. Tshwane is a crime scene and it seems that the mayor is not keen to address maladministration, corruption and nepotism in the city. Brink must get his house in order before he bitterly resorts to implementing the notorious TshwaneYaTima campaign. The campaign won’t resolve the metro’s financial woes. We won’t allow our members to be bullied. We won’t foot any bills incurred through corruption. We are not scapegoats but residents of Tshwane,” said Lotus Gardens, Atteridgeville and Saulsville Civic Association chairperson, Tshepho Mahlangu.

Fellow member, Melita Mphahlele said: “Brink must first find the people who stole that money the city owes before we talk about TshwaneYaTima.”

Tshwane recently approved the 40-year lease of Rooiwal and Pretoria West power stations in January, a move residents hope will ease the electricity woes of the area.

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