Tshwane cracks down on illegal connections: Building owners hit with R300,000 penalty

City officials, led by the Bad Buildings Division, recently conducted a joint inspection of a privately owned building in Sunnyside. They were joined by the Metro Police and officials from the Human Settlements, Electricity, and Water departments.

The focus of the inspection was a 17-storey building named Spruitsigpark in Sunnyside, Pretoria.

Upon arrival, inspectors were immediately confronted by a foul smell and water visibly leaking from the building.

The Chairperson of the committee, Kholofelo Morodi, explained the reason for the visit:

"We are concerned about their accounts, their rates and taxes, the water; we already suspect that they have bridged the water and their electricity."

Building owners found to be connecting electricity illegally in the City of Tshwane will now face a stiff R300,000 penalty. This crackdown is part of an ongoing effort to address non-compliance and illegal services in the city.

Since Spruitsigpark is privately owned, inspectors were initially assessing the outside of the building while waiting for access to the individual units to fully investigate the extent of the suspected illegal connections and water bridging.