By Toby Shapshak
Despite a decade-long dispute over double billing, City Power turned off the electricity of a Johannesburg retirement village with nearly 400 elderly people.
This is the second time in two years that the power has been cut off to Randjes Estate, including for 27 hours last year.
The City of Johannesburg officials arrived this morning with a convoy that included several Joburg Metro police cars.
Since 2012 the retirement complex – which has about 90 people in its frail care unit, many of whom require oxygen – has disputed an estimated electricity bill, despite ombudsman Advocate Xolani Gila lodging the dispute.
On Thursday, officials from City Power arrived at the home for the elderly without a letter of demand. They were led by Savuya Hansford, the city’s director of credit management, who Scrolla has emailed for comment, which will be added when a reply is received.
Although the complex’s management showed them the correspondence, the electricity meter was turned off, and the entire water meter was removed from the ground.
“We have 392 elderly people living here,” Randjes Estate chief executive Gail Kruger told Scrolla.Africa.
“It’s inhumane and inexcusable for the city to turn off the power and water for an establishment that looks after the aged”.
The dispute began in 2012 when the city demanded that its estimates for electricity be paid.
The retirement village – which is a non-profit organisation – asked for proof of actual usage but was not provided with it.
After a year of back-and-forth between the City of Joburg branches, the estimated amount of R5.7m was set aside.
In 2016, City Power official Malcolm de Lange led an inspection at the premises and found a second electricity meter, Kruger told Scrolla. This old meter had caused the double billing.
But nearly five years later, the city reinstated a new amount of R6.9m. When the officials arrived on Thursday, most were “hostile and not prepared to listen to our side”, she said, although one official was helpful.
“The bullying tactics they’ve used are meant to intimidate.”
Despite paying “hundreds of thousands of rands every year for services,” Randjes Estate was forced to pay 30% of the disputed amount (over R7.8m) to restore these essential services.
(Disclosure: Shapshak’s 95-year-old mother Sylvia lives at Randjes Estate.)
Pictured above: City of Joburg officials removed the water meter for a retirement complex of nearly 400 elderly people despite a dispute over estimates that have never been resolved.
Image source: Toby Shapshak
