Johannesburg - The City of Joburg has threatened to cut off services to Nelson Mandela’s Houghton home - for allegedly being in arrears of almost R13 000.
As the ailing Mandela spent his 59th day in hospital being treated for a recurring lung infection, the metro has gone into damage-control mode, adding to the confusion of whether the property is actually in arrears or not.
This is the house from which Mandela was transported to the Pretoria Mediclinic Heart Hospital on June 8.
This is the second time in two months that prominent properties have fallen victim to the City of Joburg’s billing chaos - joining thousands of residents who experience problems daily - after the ANC’s headquarters were hit with a R3.5 million bill in June.
Talk Radio 702 on Monday morning reported that a pre-termination notice was stuck on the gate of Mandela’s Houghton home.
However, the area stated on the notice is Oaklands and not Houghton.
“You are herewith advised that as at 2013-08-01 your account in respect of services and other related charges reflects an amount of R6 468.48 outstanding for more than 30 (thirty) days,” the termination notice reads.
According to The Star’s investigations into the City of Joburg’s current records, the full arrears on the account at August 1 was R12 811.
The city was on Monday morning investigating whether this account in fact belongs to the Mandela household.
Sello Hatang, the chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, said he was confused about EWN’s report as this was the first he had heard of it.
“The people in the house haven’t even seen it (the notice),” he said, declining to say who lived in the house.
“I don’t know how they (EWN) can do this,” Hatang said, and added that he was investigating the report via telephone as he was in Japan on Monday morning.
In June the ANC’s Luthuli House was presented with a R3.5m bill.
The ANC denied it owed the money and admitted that the incorrect bill “was part of many bills sent out to many residents which was faulty”.
The city admitted there had been an error.
City of Joburg ward councillor Marcelle Ravid said Mandela’s property was definitely not in Oaklands, but in Houghton.
“There is obviously an error in the council’s billing system. I get numerous complaints about people being served with these pre-termination notices, and even having their services cut off because of incorrect addresses reflecting on accounts,” she said.
Metrowatch has received scores of complaints from residents claiming that their addresses have “suddenly” been changed after years of living on the same property.
The city has never provided a proper response for this, blaming it on incorrect information loaded onto the geographical information system (GIS).
However, a Craighall resident, Jennifer Culpan, has offered an explanation after reading the numerous complaints and doing her own investigation as her parents have the same problem.
After attending a training course on the GIS map guide application, which is a database of all the properties with erf numbers, meter numbers, and infrastructure, Culpan discovered her parents’ property used to be on land that was subdivided in the early 1960s.
“After more than 50 years, the number of my parents’ house has been changed.
“The street number, since 1956, was 12. The new house on the lower half of their property was 14. Their residential address was 12, their billing address on their accounts was 14. There were also instances of the neighbour’s account arriving at their house and people from the city coming to disconnect them for unpaid bills.
“What is more, the accounts being sent were for the neighbour’s bills,” she said.
“It has something to do with the house number being attached to the erf number or portion number.
“The city must be aware of this and an audit should be done to connect house numbers, database house numbers and meter numbers.
“Logic should dictate that we don’t reside in one house and have our mail sent to another or pay the bills of another,” she said.
“All of those issues we are looking at as a matter of urgency. Later today, we will be able to provide details,” said spokesman for the City of Joburg, Gabu Tugwana.
The Star