Joburg’s Festive-Season Warning: Pay Up, or Face Water and Power Cuts

Johannesburg residents are heading into the festive season with an unexpected companion: a stern warning from the city that unpaid municipal bills could lead to water and electricity disconnections, even during December holidays.

For a city already battling rolling outages, ageing infrastructure, and a weary public, the message landed with a mix of anxiety and frustration.

A City Under Pressure and Running Out of Cash

The City of Johannesburg is dealing with a debt crisis so large it’s now shaping day-to-day service delivery.
City Power alone owes a staggering R10.2 billion, while Johannesburg Water is behind on payments to Rand Water by roughly R850 million.

That shortfall is trickling down to contractors. Literally.

• Johannesburg Water’s unpaid invoices shot past R1 billion by the end of October, up from R660 million just a month earlier.

• More than 200 suppliers are waiting for payment.

• At City Power, contractors recently protested outside the Reuven head office demanding settlement of the R1.2 billion owed to them.

Some contractors have already stopped work. Critical projectslike the new Brixton reservoir and towerhave dragged on with delays and additional costs.

City to Residents: Don’t Make December an Excuse

Kgamanyane Maphologela, the City’s Director of Customer Communications, reminded residents that municipal billing doesn’t go on holiday.

Many people, he said, “forget to settle their municipal accounts before travelling,” but credit control remains active throughout the festive break.

That means Level 3 disconnections for habitual non-payerswhere the city not only cuts the supply but removes cables, meters, and infrastructure altogether.

Reconnections aren’t simple. Or cheap. Residents would need to submit new service applications and cover all associated costs.

Maphologela stressed that the city understands year-end financial strain, but skipping payments now could lead to families returning to homes without water or electricityan unwelcome surprise after holiday travel.

Behind the Threat: A Controversial “Sweeping Arrangement”

Faced with mounting debt, the city recently introduced something called a sweeping arrangementa system that merges all municipal entities’ accounts into one balance sheet.
In theory, this helps the city manage cash flow. In reality, it’s stirring political and public pushback.

WaterCan’s Alarm Bells

Advocacy group WaterCan accused the city of prioritising internal administration over residents’ basic needs.

“We’re facing a perfect storm of decaying infrastructure, poor financial management, and political leaders who are unresponsive,” said WaterCan’s Executive Director, Ferrial Adam.

DA Wants Transparency

The DA says it’s still waitingafter monthsfor clarity on how the sweeping arrangement works and argues that it is undermining Johannesburg Water.

“Legal doesn’t mean right,” said DA water spokesperson Stephen Moore, insisting leadership could ring-fence funds if it wanted to.

Public Reaction: Fear, Anger, and the Usual Joburg Humour

On social media, the announcement sparked the typical Joburg cocktail of sarcasm and genuine concern.

• “We don’t even have stable electricity. What are you disconnecting?” one resident posted on X.

• Others worried that vulnerable familiesalready battling high living costscould be pushed further into crisis.

• Some residents expressed frustration that they are being threatened while contractors and suppliers remain unpaid.

The sentiment is clear: Joburgers feel they are paying the price for a system that’s not working for them.

The Bigger Picture: A City on the Brink of a Trust Deficit

This is not just about unpaid bills. It’s about a municipality fighting to maintain essential services while residents lose faith in the system.

The debt, the protests, the sweeping arrangement, the looming disconnectionsall signal deeper structural problems affecting South Africa’s economic hub.

But for now, with December around the corner, one thing is certain:
If your municipal bill is gathering dust, the City of Johannesburg is ready to remind you, quite literally, that water and electricity don’t run on holiday spirit.

{Source: The Citizen}

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