Tshwane residents have 10 days to come clean over water and lights meter tampering... or face a R200K fine and criminal charges

Pretoria - Tshwane residents who tampered with their water and electricity meters have 10 days left to apply for the Amnesty Programme and avoid hefty fines, which can go upto R200 000 for households.

The programme was opened on August 1 and will run until September 30.

This was done in an effort to give people a chance to come clean and admit to the tampering before the city finds them.

“Residents and clients are hereby reminded that in Tshwane we do not tolerate illegal connections and electricity theft. We’ve increased fines for such illegal activities,” said Tshwane mayor Randall Williams.

Williams said individuals and household accounts will be fined R200 000 and business accounts will be fined R10 million.

In addition to the fines, the city will lay criminal charges and pursue recovery of lost income.

Speaking to eNCA, Tshwane Finance MEC Peter Sutton said electricity theft alone costs the City nearly R500m in lost revenue each year.

“We understand that people battle, we understand that economic circumstances are difficult for people. I also just want to remind people that we have the affordability assessment programme. So if you do have a problem, engage us, that’s a programme where we can assist you partially or fully, but under certain terms and conditions.

“We also have the indigent programme, where people who really battle and can’t afford, under certain conditions, they can apply for free basic services,” Sutton said.

Sutton added that by coming forward, residents will be avoiding criminal charges, their fines will be waived and those who qualify for amnesty will start paying for services correctly from the date the amnesty is granted.

He said the City will be very strict to those who don’t use this grace period to come clean.

“There are people who appear arrogant and feel entitled to do these illegal connections. We will be strict on those if they don’t come forward,” he said.

To apply for amnesty go to: https://www.tshwane.gov.za/sites/Departments/Financial-Services/Financial-Documents/Pages/Amnesty-Campaign.aspx