By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ruled that the City of Tshwane should reconnect water and electricity to Club Crossing Shopping Centre on Friday.
The shopping centre’s property management approached the High Court in Pretoria on an urgent basis on Friday after the City cut the water and electricity supply to the premises, alleging it was owed R2.4 million for the services.
The urgent application, which was heard on Friday morning due to the extreme urgency, ordered Tshwane to return services with immediate effect
This week, the City visited several private companies and government departments, cutting off power and electricity due to unpaid bills, which amount to millions.
- Sheraton Hotel — R23 million
- South African Women’s Federation — R5 million
- SANDF Navy logistics building — R3.2 million
- Lake View Business Centre — R2.7 million
- Club Crossing Shopping Centre — R2.4 million
- South African Police Service Pol TV — R2.4 million
- Commercial Crimes Court — R2.2 million
- Department of Higher Education and Training — R2.1 million
- Summermania Seven — R1.7 million
- Department of Water and Sanitation — R1.37 million
- Lyttelton Shopping Centre — R705,913
- Morning Star Express Hotel — R573,668
- Ditsong Museum — R294,288
City spokesperson Selby Bokaba said it was ambushed by the urgent application, saying papers were filed 20 minutes before the case was heard.
Bokaba said as a result, the City did not file responding papers.
“While a company may dispute an amount that is charged, that does not place the whole account in abeyance and allow for non-payment on the bill. Nor does it allow for non-payment on future billings as well.