By Levy Masiteng
The City of Tshwane said on Wednesday the National Department of Public Works has processed payments totalling R91 milliontoward municipal accounts in arrears, as the metro steps up efforts to recover about R1.9 billion it is owed by national and provincial departments.
The payment follows the metro’s Tshwane Ya Tima revenue-collection drive, under which city teams have carried out credit-control site visits and disconnections at selected government properties.
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Mayor Nasiphi Moya said electricity was disconnected at the Department of Labour’s Pretoria head office, which she said owes R11 million, and at the SAPS Academy, which she said owes R3.8 million.
The metro also targeted premises housing the state IT Agency (SITA), which the city said is linked to arrears of R4.3 million. SITA, however, has rejected that claim, saying it is a tenant and not the municipal account-holder.
In a statement and social media posts about the campaign, Executive Mayor Nasiphi Moya said: “We are on a revenue collection campaign,” while stressing that enforcement would apply across institutions.
On the Public Works payment, the city said: “The City of Tshwane welcomes confirmation it received this morning that the National Department of Public Works has processed payments totalling R91 million in respect of municipal accounts in arrears.
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“We appreciate the engagement with the Department of Public Works to address these matters and view this as a constructive step towards resolving long-outstanding municipal accounts and strengthening intergovernmental cooperation.”
The metro said it would update its financial records once the R91 million has been fully received and reconciled, and that it will continue engaging with government departments over remaining arrears.
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