The City of Johannesburg has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to illegal connections in the municipality and will lay criminal charges where necessary.

The municipality issued the warning via a press statement as part of its Credit Control Campaign to address electricity theft, water theft, and general lawlessness in the metro.

“The City of Johannesburg will not hesitate to lay criminal charges or effect arrests, impose hefty fines, and immediately disconnect electricity and water supply to those who illegally connect themselves to the services,” it said.

Kgamanyane Maphologela, group finances director for communications and stakeholder management at the metro, says the campaign targets suburbs and businesses where illegal connections are rife.

“The city is losing a substantial amount of revenue due to illegal connections of services,” said Maphologela.

He added that the metro will intensify its “Credit Control blitz” against illegal connections citywide in the coming days and weeks.

According to the city’s Credit Control Policy, illegal reconnection and tampering with water or electricity supply constitute criminal offences. Thus, the city is empowered to take legal action against offending customers.

The policy also gives the metro the power to disconnect services and demand payment of arrears in full, in addition to any illegal reconnection penalty fees.

The payment of arrears and penalties must be completed before the city will restore services to a property.

“The city has in the past months affected level 3 disconnection of water and electricity supply to businesses which had illegally reconnected themselves to services,” said the City of Johannesburg.

“The level 3 disconnection means the city removes its infrastructure, which includes the meter from the premises.”

Joburg’s disconnection levels are as follows:

• Level one — After the city has issued a pre-term notice, and the resident hasn’t entered into an Acknowledgement of Debt (AOD) or paid their debt within 14 days, the city will switch off the switch box for electricity or water, depending on what you owe.

• Level two — If level one measures don’t work and the resident still hasn’t paid or entered into an AOD, the city will go to their building and physically remove the meter.

• Level three — Assuming there is still no payment or agreement, the city will remove its infrastructure for the resident’s building.

The metro advised that owners who struggle to service their accounts should approach the city to avoid being cut off and to sign an AOD.

Customers have a selection of methods to pay their outstanding amounts, including through the e-Joburg Portal, EasyPay, debit orders, direct deposits at bank branches, Internet and cellphone banking, and via the South African Post Office.

source:Joburg threatens criminal charges for illegal water and electricity connections (mybroadband.co.za)