Members of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department and City Power officials outside the Nigerian consulate in Illovo on Wednesday.
PHOTO: Alex Patrick/Noticias24
- Power was returned to the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg.
- Power went out after they failed to pay a bill for R406,000.
- City Power is embarking on a city-wide debt collection effort to recover the R4 billion owed to it.
The Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg is able to turn their lights back on after making arrangements to pay their R406,000 electricity bill.
The consulate was shut down Wednesday during a three-day effort by City Power to collect revenue owed by residents and businesses in Region E.
The bulk electricity provider is owed R4 billion in unpaid bills, and delinquent businesses and residents in Region E owe R363 million.
City Power spokesman Isaac Mangena said he expected to recover R36 million of this debt during the three-day bombing raid.
The Nigerian consulate in Illovo was first on the list of companies to visit City Power and the Johannesburg Metro on Wednesday.
But when the officials arrived at the consulate, they locked the gates and denied entry to the property.
READ | City Power cuts power to Nigerian consulate over unpaid bill over R400,000
When it became clear that officials were not meeting with City Power, the entity cut power to the consulate.
Mangena said the power had been turned back on after members of the consulate met City Power at their offices in Kew.
He said they had made arrangements to pay the rest of the bill at the end of the month.
“They had a lack of consistency in paying their bill. For example, last month they paid for six months and last year they paid for only one month. And before that, they paid for only three months.”
Mangena estimated that the operation had managed to recover around R10 million so far.
“We are encouraged that more business and residential customers in the area have been visiting our service delivery center to pay their bills, make arrangements, or ask how they can fix their accounts. We call on others to do the same, so they can don’t be on the wrong side [of another debt recovery operation],” he said.
City Power will carry out similar operations in the other six regions of Johannesburg.
