Today, I’m pleased to note that that the City will receive R100 million in revenue following ABSA Bank Ltd voluntarily coming forward to correct under billing for one of their properties.
ABSA recently approached the City of Johannesburg to indicate that the R600 000 electricity bill for one of their buildings in Randburg appeared to be too low.
In 2010, the bank had applied to City Power for their supply to the building to be increased from a domestic to a large scale power user with a higher voltage transformer. Upon installing these new supply and meter, the City continued to erroneously bill the bank on the previously installed domestic meter.
When City Power technicians investigated the supply, they realised that the meter that Absa was being billed on was supplying nearby domestic users.
Following this, the bank and the City have agreed to a settlement amount of R100 million as payment on the electricity bill. Going forward, the City will ensure that the bank is correctly billed for services rendered to it. I would like to thank Absa Bank for voluntarily coming forward to correct the matter with the City. If we are to build a society based on the rule of law, every resident and business must do their part in upholding and following the law.
In this regard, Absa Bank has set a positive example which I hope others will follow. It is clear to me that the City is progressively starting to reap the rewards of Operation #BuyaMthetho, which aims to bring back the rule of law in our City.
Since the launch of the project, the City has collected a total of R341 million. Operation #BuyaMthetho will continue to ensure that residents don’t beat the brunt of defaulting ratepayers who continue to brazenly defy the law. The operation is integral to rooting out lawlessness that compromises the livelihoods of residents of this City.
I have every faith that going forward, the project will continue to grow from strength to strength.
Cllr Herman Mashaba
Executive Mayor
City of Johannesburg
Media Enquiries:
Luyanda Mfeka
Director: Mayoral Communications
Office of the Executive Mayor
Cell: 076 171 5978
Email: luyandam@joburg.org.za
