Pretoria - The provincial government has paid the R12 million needed to reconnect electricity and water services at the Gautrain Hatfield Station.
This was confirmed by City of Tshwane mayor Randall Williams on Wednesday afternoon.
“We are pleased to report that the Gauteng Provincial Government has paid R12 million to reconnect services to Gautrain Hatfield. There was no court challenge and we appreciate the co-operation,” Randall wrote on Twitter.
His remarks were backed up by the City of Tshwane which confirmed that the provincial government had settled the R10m owed and paying an “additional R2m upfront”.
The City said it would not be deterred by “threats of court action”.
Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager told IOL News that the city has been stating that the electricity and water account for Hatfield station was in arrears and hence the city has cut off services to the station.
“This was in spite of the fact that we have provided proof to the city that these accounts were not only up to date but also in credit. Yesterday evening, the City informed us that it was a rates account which was in arrears. As the operator of the Gautrain, we have not received any statement of account from the city for rates and we have not made any payment in this regard.
“This afternoon we were informed by the city that it had been invoicing the Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) for the rates and that the DID has now made the outstanding payment for the rates,” said Nayager.
She further said “the services have not as yet been reconnected but the city has assured us that the services will be restored as soon as possible. Gautrain passengers have not been adversely impacted as we have continued to operate the station as well as the train, bus, and midi-bus services to and from Hatfield station.”
"This is to confirm that the Department of Infrastructure Development has indeed paid R1.2 million towards the municipality rates account in relation to the facility that houses the Hatfield Gautrain station. As for the balance of the monies owed to the City of Tshwane we are unable to confirm whether that account for utilities (water and lights) has been settled with the metro," said DID spokesperson Bongiwe Gumbi.
The war of words between the two entities began after the Gautrain issued a statement on Tuesday saying despite running its operations on prepaid meters, the City had disconnected its water and electricity illegally.
It maintained that its accounts were up to date and that they even had a credit facility of R120 000 and threatened legal action against the municipality.
But acting city manager Mmaseabata Mutlaneng told a local broadcaster that their records revealed that no payment had been made since March 2020.
“On Tuesday late noon we were at a teleconference with the CEO (and) representatives from Bombela, where we showed them the account and the title showed that property rates and taxes that have not been paid is over R10m and the last payment was in March 2020.”
She added: “Even in that regard, what we shared was that yes, we know you may not owe water and electricity, however, the by-laws of the city also allow us where we are owed property rates that had not been accounted for … to disconnect water and electricity.
Mutlaneng further said: “After our engagement with them they indicated that they were not aware. Our team is available so that we can be able to resolve these matters.”
Meanwhile, the SAPS assured the public that services were continuing as normal and it was business as usual at its administrative headquarters in Pretoria.
On Tuesday, there were reports that water and electricity was disconnected at the SAPS headquarters.
SAPS spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe said the Wachthuis building that had been disconnected was leased by the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) for use by the police service.
“The DPWI settles the rental payment on a monthly basis to the landlords as per the lease agreement. The landlords have a responsibility to pay for municipal services, on a monthly basis. The DPWI then recoups such monies from the SAPS as per the Devolution Agreement.
“The SAPS is therefore not in arrears with municipal services. The SAPS thus takes this opportunity to assure the nation that no service delivery has been affected at all its buildings and or service points,” said Mathe.
On its Twitter page, the City of Tshwane indicated that the landlord of the SAPS Wachthuis headquarters had paid their municipal bill of more than R5m in full and services to the building would be reconnected.
Political Bureau