The City of Tshwane confirmed on Thursday that the electricity supply to Hartbeespoort will be disconnected if the Madibeng Municipality does not cough up R129 million.
“The Madibeng Local Municipality owes the City of Tshwane a total outstanding amount of R129 Million for water and electricity as at 31 October 2024. The last payment was made in August 2024. An instruction for disconnection has been issued,” said City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo.
He said Tshwane was engaging with Madibeng’s management to ensure that they pay the outstanding amount or enter into a payment arrangement which is favourable.
Madibeng’s only response to the possible looming blackout was to state that its legal team is handling the matter. “We should indicate as well that we are working on averting any possible blackout in the Hartbeespoort area,” said Madibeng spokesperson Tumelo Tshabalala.
The electricity supply to the Rietfontein Waste Water Treatment Plant was already disconnected on 25 October because Madibeng Municipality failed to pay its R2.5 million arrears account. For the past two weeks, all of Hartbeespoort’s sewage has been streaming directly into the Hartbeespoort Dam.
Tshabalala said earlier this week that Madibeng had paid the City of Tshwane for the Rietfontein Waste Water Treatment Works account, but “the City wants us to settle all other accounts.”
Kormorant has learnt that a generator was rented this week to run the Rietfontein plant at an estimated cost of R120 000 per week.
In another turn of events, it came to light that a shopping centre in the Melodie area owed the municipality over R36 million. The municipality did not respond to an enquiry about why the electricity supply to the particular centre was not disconnected to enforce much-needed revenue collection.

Also see: Madibeng can’t pay Tshwane – sewage still streaming into Hartbeespoort Dam