Government departments and parastatals owe Johannesburg more than R1.4 billion in unpaid water, electricity and rates accounts, but they have now been told to pay up.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Minister of Cooperative Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa both said government departments and provincial governments must pay municipalities what they are owed. This follows Treasury temporarily withholding equitable share grants from 69 municipalities, including Johannesburg, for incurring billions in unauthorised, wasteful, fruitless and irregular expenditure (UIFWE) which Treasury said was not in compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act.
Since the 2021-22 financial year, municipalities have incurred a total of R24.12 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure; irregular expenditure of R145.21 billion (R40.14 billion was incurred in 2024-25 alone); and R118.13 billion in unauthorised expenditure, of which R63.43 billion (54%) was on non-cash budget items.
In the 2024-25 financial year, 116 municipalities (45%) adopted unfunded budgets – up from 113 (44%) in the previous year’s adjusted budget; and by the end of that financial year, municipalities owed interest of R3.40 billion to Eskom and R1.21 billion to water boards.
The City of Johannesburg and its municipal entities have written off R45.16 billion in UIFWE over the past five years.
While all the grants have now been paid over, Treasury said it is keeping a close watch on these municipalities.
As at the end of June, national and provincial government institutions collectively held more than 6 300 municipal service accounts with the City of Johannesburg. The total outstanding balance across all municipal services amounted to approximately R1.44 billion, comprising water, refuse and rates.
Johannesburg Water carries the bulk of outstanding accounts, with more than R700 million owed to the entity. Worse still, more than half of this is over 91 days overdue.
The biggest culprit for not paying its municipal accounts is the Department of Education, owing Johannesburg Water R325 million and City Power more than R70 million.
At the end of March this year, Johannesburg Water’s outstanding government and parastatal clients owed:
- Department of Education: R325 million
- Department of Health: R136 million
- Department of Infrastructure Development: R115 million
- Department of Human Settlements: R56 million
- Department of Correctional Services: R37 million
- Department of Public Works: R16 million
- Dept of Justice: R1.2 million
- SA National Defence Force: R928 589.00
- Department of Transport: R352 219.00
- Dept of Cooperative Governance : R187 954.00
- Department of Finance: R35 771.00
- Eskom: R54 million
- Transnet: R45 million
- Prasa: R40 million
- Telkom: R2.3 million
- Sanral: R828 519.00
- SA Post Office: R122 731.00
- SABC: R26 777.00
- Other entities (not named): R2.7 million
At City Power, the debt of national departments and parastatals stands at R273.1 million. The Department of Health owes the most with R112.5 million outstanding.
The Department of Education owes R70.1 million, the Department of Housing owes R31.1 million, and the Department of Infrastructure Development owes R20.1 million.
The rest are:
- Department of Public Works: R19.9 million
- The departments of Justice and Correctional Services: R10.2 million
- Department of Defence: R7.6 million
- Department of Finance: R2.1 million
- Department of Transport: R1 million
“While City Power remains committed to supporting these institutions through continued investment in reliable electricity infrastructure and collaborative engagement, it is equally important that all government customers honour their payment obligations. Sustainable revenue remains fundamental to maintaining, upgrading and expanding Johannesburg’s electricity network, ensuring that essential public services continue to receive a reliable electricity supply,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.
He said while City Power is concerned about the outstanding debt owed by government institutions, it is important to note that some of these accounts have been formally disputed due to billing queries raised by the relevant departments. “The entity continues to work closely with these departments to resolve legitimate billing-related matters.
During a government accounts indaba held in June this year, City Power’s acting chief executive officer (CEO) Charles Tlouane reiterated that government institutions have a responsibility to lead by example by honouring their payment obligations.
Sustainable revenue remains fundamental to maintaining, upgrading and expanding Johannesburg’s electricity network, ensuring that essential public services continue to receive a reliable electricity supply.” — Isaac Mangena, City Power spokesperson
He stressed that sustainable electricity service delivery depends on sustainable revenue, and that all spheres of government must pay for the services they consume to enable municipalities to maintain and modernise critical infrastructure, invest in the electricity network and continue delivering reliable services to residents and businesses.
“Since City Power assumed full responsibility for the electricity billing function from the City of Johannesburg on 1 July 2025, significant progress has been made in improving billing accuracy and resolving historical account queries. At the time of the transfer, there were approximately 8 000 outstanding billing queries across all customer categories. This number has since been reduced to below 2 000 through focused interventions. The remaining queries continue to be monitored daily to ensure they are resolved as efficiently as possible,” Mangena said.
City Power’s biggest debt problem lies with residential, business and large power user clients. Mangena said this debt amounts to R13.3 billion.
Johannesburg Water said it, in collaboration with the City of Johannesburg’s Revenue Shared Services Centre (RSSC), convenes quarterly debt management committee meetings with indebted government departments and the Gauteng Provincial Treasury to review outstanding debt, monitor payment commitments, and address billing-related challenges.
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“In addition, JW conducts dedicated working sessions with the respective departments to undertake debt verification and reconciliation exercises, including account audits, meter verification, and the resolution of billing disputes, ensuring that all outstanding balances are accurate, validated, and recoverable,” said JW spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala.
She said where payment defaults persist, matters are escalated through the appropriate internal structures to senior officials, executive authorities, and the Provincial Treasury to facilitate intervention, promote accountability, and secure the settlement of outstanding municipal debt.
“Lastly, where accounts remain in default despite these engagements and interventions, Johannesburg Water implements credit control measures in accordance with the approved Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy, including the disconnection of water services where applicable,” she said.
- This article was produced by Our City News, an independent project serving the people of Johannesburg.
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