Belinda PhetoThe high court has granted the City of Tshwane an order allowing it to attach the account of Madibeng municipality to recoup a R253m debt for water. Stock photo.The high court in Pretoria on Tuesday granted the City of Tshwane permission to attach the account of the Madibeng local municipality in an effort to force it to settle its multimillion-rand water debt.
According to spokesperson for Tshwane, Selby Bokaba, the North West municipality owes R258m for unpaid bulk water.“In August 2021 the two municipalities entered into a payment arrangement, in terms of which the former would settle their account in instalments over a specific payment period — but they failed to honour their commitment,” Bokaba said.
He said at the time the agreement was entered into, Madibeng’s debt stood at about R243m and Tshwane was forced to restrict the municipality’s water usage by 50%.