Tshwane executive mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya will have to wait for more than R200-million owed to her municipality after a Mpumalanga government agency announced it would appeal a High Court order compelling it to settle the massive utilities bill.
The Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) has confirmed that it owes the City of Tshwane for water, sanitation and electricity supplied to the Ekandustria Industrial Park outside Bronkhorstspruit.
But the agency says the actual amount contained in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, judgment is R213,678,984.48, not the R231-million announced by Moya this week.
It also rejected the city’s assertion that the debt had since ballooned to R461-million, saying neither figure appears in the judgment.
“The judgment directs MEGA to pay CoT R213 678 984.48, comprising R28 614 967.95 for water and sanitation services and R185 064 016.53 for electricity supplied to MEGA’s property at the Ekandustria Industrial Park, Bronkhorstspruit, together with interest at the prescribed legal rate,” MEGA CEO Isaac Mahlangu told Sunday World.
The judgment was handed down on September 17.
READ MORE: Mpumalanga ‘cash cow’ agency bleeds R285m in unpaid loans
MEGA admits it owes Tshwane
The battle is, therefore, not over whether MEGA owes Tshwane money.
“MEGA does not dispute that it is indebted to CoT for municipal services rendered and remains committed to settling the debt,” Mahlangu said.
“MEGA values its relationship with the City of Tshwane as a fellow organ of state and has approached the matter in the spirit of cooperative government.”
Moya had announced that Tshwane had secured a court order for more than R231-million and warned that MEGA had 10 days to pay.
She went further, saying her administration could consider attaching MEGA’s bank account if the money was not forthcoming.
The agency has now thrown a legal spanner into those plans.
MEGA said it would apply for leave to appeal over whether Tshwane complied with section 45(1) of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act.
The provision deals with efforts organs of state are required to make to settle intergovernmental disputes before resorting to judicial proceedings.
MEGA said its lawyers believed the dispute raised an important question about how disagreements between organs of state should be handled.
“The application for leave to appeal will be lodged within the applicable period prescribed by the Court,” Mahlangu said.
“The filing of the application has the effect of suspending the operation and execution of the decision pending the outcome of the application.”
READ MORE: Tshwane council decisions under court scrutiny
R185m electricity bill
The scale of the bill places the spotlight on Ekandustria, MEGA’s largest industrial park.
MEGA manages the sprawling industrial property and supplies municipal services to tenants operating from the park.
Its businesses span industries including food processing, timber, leather, plastics, textiles, recycling and construction materials.
Of the R213.7-million the court ordered MEGA to pay, R185.1-million relates to electricity alone, while another R28.6-million is for water and sanitation.
The liability is also striking when measured against MEGA’s provincial funding. The agency has been allocated approximately R281.6-million from the Mpumalanga provincial government for the 2026/27 financial year.
The court-ordered amount is equivalent to roughly three-quarters of that allocation.
READ MORE: Mpumalanga’s doomed funding agency demoted for failing young entrepreneurs
MEGA, however, says discussions with Tshwane over the debt did not stop when the parties went to court.
According to Mahlangu, agency representatives met the Tshwane city manager, deputy mayor and chief financial officer on March 11 last year.
The parties agreed that the dispute would be pursued through Tshwane’s Credit Control Policy, MEGA said, after which the agency lodged a formal complaint.
Engagements have continued.
Moya promises to collect
Moya painted the judgment as part of Tshwane’s wider campaign to collect money owed to the municipality, saying government entities would receive no special treatment.
“Our revenue collection efforts will not stop with residents and businesses,” she said.
“Having strengthened enforcement through Tshwane Ya Tima, we are now intensifying efforts to recover money owed by government departments and state entities.”
Moya said every rand recovered could be reinvested into water, electricity, roads and other basic services.
MEGA, meanwhile, has promised that the court battle will not leave businesses at Ekandustria in the dark.
The agency said it would continue supplying municipal services to tenants throughout the appeal process while engaging Tshwane over settlement of the outstanding amounts.
That leaves two organs of state agreeing on one crucial fact, that money is owed, but still fighting in court over how Tshwane went about collecting it.
RELATED
- The Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) owes the City of Tshwane R213,678,984.48 for utilities supplied to the Ekandustria Industrial Park, as confirmed by a Gauteng High Court judgment on September 17.
- MEGA disputes the City of Tshwane's figures of R231 million and R461 million, stating neither amount appears in the court judgment.
- MEGA plans to appeal the court order on procedural grounds, questioning whether Tshwane complied with the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act before seeking judicial intervention.
- Of the owed amount, R185,064,016.53 is for electricity and R28,614,967.95 is for water and sanitation services.
- Despite the legal dispute, MEGA will continue supplying municipal services to Ekandustria tenants and is committed to settling the debt.
Tshwane executive mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya will have to wait for more than R200-million owed to her municipality after a Mpumalanga government agency announced it would appeal a High Court order compelling it to settle the massive utilities bill.
The Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) has confirmed that it owes the City of Tshwane for water, sanitation and electricity supplied to the Ekandustria Industrial Park outside Bronkhorstspruit.
But the agency says the actual amount contained in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, judgment is R213,678,984.48, not the R231-million announced by Moya this week.
It also rejected the city's assertion that the debt had since ballooned to R461-million, saying neither figure appears in the judgment.
“The judgment directs MEGA to pay CoT R213 678 984.48, comprising R28 614 967.95 for water and sanitation services and R185 064 016.53 for electricity supplied to MEGA's property at the Ekandustria Industrial Park, Bronkhorstspruit, together with interest at the prescribed legal rate,” MEGA CEO Isaac Mahlangu told Sunday World.
The judgment was handed down on September 17.
READ MORE: Mpumalanga ‘cash cow’ agency bleeds R285m in unpaid loans
The battle is, therefore, not over whether MEGA owes Tshwane money.
“MEGA does not dispute that it is indebted to CoT for municipal services rendered and remains committed to settling the debt,” Mahlangu said.
“MEGA values its relationship with the City of Tshwane as a fellow organ of state and has approached the matter in the spirit of cooperative government.”
Moya had announced that Tshwane had secured a court order for more than R231-million and warned that MEGA had 10 days to pay.
She went further, saying her administration could consider attaching MEGA's bank account if the money was not forthcoming.
The agency has now thrown a legal spanner into those plans.
MEGA said it would apply for leave to appeal over whether Tshwane complied with section 45(1) of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act.
The provision deals with efforts organs of state are required to make to settle intergovernmental disputes before resorting to judicial proceedings.
MEGA said its lawyers believed the dispute raised an important question about how disagreements between organs of state should be handled.
“The application for leave to appeal will be lodged within the applicable period prescribed by the Court,” Mahlangu said.
“The filing of the application has the effect of suspending the operation and execution of the decision pending the outcome of the application.”
READ MORE: Tshwane council decisions under court scrutiny
The scale of the bill places the spotlight on Ekandustria, MEGA's largest industrial park.
MEGA manages the sprawling industrial property and supplies municipal services to tenants operating from the park.
Its businesses span industries including food processing, timber, leather, plastics, textiles, recycling and construction materials.
Of the R213.7-million the court ordered MEGA to pay, R185.1-million relates to electricity alone, while another R28.6-million is for water and sanitation.
The liability is also striking when measured against MEGA's provincial funding. The agency has been allocated approximately R281.6-million from the Mpumalanga provincial government for the 2026/27 financial year.
The court-ordered amount is equivalent to roughly three-quarters of that allocation.
READ MORE: Mpumalanga’s doomed funding agency demoted for failing young entrepreneurs
MEGA, however, says discussions with Tshwane over the debt did not stop when the parties went to court.
According to Mahlangu, agency representatives met the Tshwane city manager, deputy mayor and chief financial officer on March 11 last year.
The parties agreed that the dispute would be pursued through Tshwane's Credit Control Policy, MEGA said, after which the agency lodged a formal complaint.
Engagements have continued.
Moya painted the judgment as part of Tshwane's wider campaign to collect money owed to the municipality, saying government entities would receive no special treatment.
“Our revenue collection efforts will not stop with residents and businesses,” she said.
“Having strengthened enforcement through Tshwane Ya Tima, we are now intensifying efforts to recover money owed by government departments and state entities.”
Moya said every rand recovered could be reinvested into water, electricity, roads and other basic services.
MEGA, meanwhile, has promised that the court battle will not leave businesses at Ekandustria in the dark.
The agency said it would continue supplying municipal services to tenants throughout the appeal process while engaging Tshwane over settlement of the outstanding amounts.
That leaves two organs of state agreeing on one crucial fact, that money is owed, but still fighting in court over how Tshwane went about collecting it.
RELATED
