Tshwane Homeowners Wrongly Fined for Meter Tampering by Municipal Workers

Residents in the City of Tshwane are embroiled in a shocking dilemma as they find themselves fined and without power due to the City’s mishandling of their electrical meters. Multiple complaints have emerged from Tshwane’s suburbs, with homeowners in Wierdapark and Eldoraigne bearing the brunt of a R27,000 fine each, meted out by the metro over allegations of meter tampering—interference ironically carried out by the city’s own technicians.

In November 2023, the Henns’ household in Wierdapark was notified about the necessity to replace their electricity meter box, deemed too small. Upon installation, issues arose with their prepaid meter, leading to a seemingly harmless yet unregulated temporary fix by a city technician. Assurances were given that this would be resolved promptly, however, this promise fell through. Even after reporting an error and witnessing a puzzling visit from a metro vehicle, their predicaments peaked when in February 2024, their municipal bill included the startling fine, accompanied by financial threats from the municipality.

Charmain Knoetze from Eldoraigne, aged 69, similarly fell victim to the city’s mishaps when her prepaid meter ceased to function, only for a technician to conduct an unauthorized bypass in her absence. Consequently, Knoetze, too, faces the R27,000 fine and now lives with the added stress of a potential home invasion due to her non-functional alarm system, all because of an illegal connection she did not request.

These stories surface amidst CoT's stern #TshwaneYaTime campaign, aimed at recuperating billions in electricity and water debts—a campaign now clouded by the questionable conduct of its own officials who, rather than curtail illegal connections, seem to be contributing to the very problem they seek to resolve. With homes and businesses being targeted for disconnection over unpaid bills and illegal connections, the irony is stark: the city appears to have entangled itself within the fabric of the misconduct it vows to combat.

The City of Tshwane finds itself at a pivotal point, with the covert corruption within its ranks unveiled by these incidents, pushing citizens to question the integrity of metro officials. The city has yet to respond comprehensively to queries from Rapport regarding the withdrawal of these unjust fines.

As the narrative unfolds, anxieties remain high among the affected households, who hold onto a glimmer of hope for a resolution that exonerates them from these erroneous allegations of tampering, a hope that the metropolitan authorities will do what is just and rectify their grave errors.