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Hawks Storm Joburg City Power in R500 Million Payments Scandal

Published

2 months ago

July 25, 2025

Chiraag

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On a quiet Thursday afternoon in Johannesburg, the City Power headquarters became the centre of a major corruption investigation. Members of the Hawks, South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, were spotted moving in and out of the building with stacks of documents, evidence tied to nearly R500 million in questionable payments.

What they left with might shed light on what has become one of the city’s most unsettling scandals in recent memory.

Invoices, Warnings and Ignored Red Flags

At the heart of the investigation are three large payments made to contractors, reportedly with the approval of City Power executives. The biggest one, according to documents seen by Eyewitness News, involved R335 million for failed maintenance projects; this, despite internal warnings that the invoices were suspicious.

Sources say the utility was repeatedly flagged for irregularities but went ahead anyway.

From R8 Million to R100 Million; Inflated by Over 1,000%

Another transaction raising eyebrows is a deal for electrical infrastructure. Originally quoted at R8 million, City Power allegedly paid a shocking R100 million for the same supply, a more than 1,000% markup that has investigators scrambling to understand who approved it and why.

This echoes past concerns about overpricing in government-linked tenders, especially in the utilities sector, where transparency often disappears under load-shedding schedules and emergency procurement.

Why Hire Managers When You Already Have Them?

A third case under the microscope is City Power’s decision to pay R55 million to an external firm to handle managerial duties already covered by in-house senior staff. While private consultants are often brought in to bolster teams, critics argue this move was both redundant and costly, especially at a time when the utility has publicly lamented its financial struggles.

Leadership in the Firing Line

All of this has landed the power utility’s CEO, Tshifularo Mashava, in hot water. She has already faced multiple allegations of nepotism and fraud, and public trust in City Power is at an all-time low. With ongoing service issues, from billing chaos to persistent outages, the revelations have only intensified calls for accountability.

Many Johannesburg residents took to social media to express outrage, asking how hundreds of millions could be mismanaged when homes sit in the dark and infrastructure continues to crumble.

The Bigger Picture: A Utility in Crisis

This investigation comes at a critical time for Johannesburg, where the power supply remains fragile and public faith in municipal leadership is waning. While the Hawks have not yet made arrests, Thursday’s raid signals that the gloves may be off.

City Power’s promise to keep the lights on can no longer be separated from questions of integrity. And as the investigation unfolds, residents want more than headlines; they want justice and a utility that works for the people, not against them.