A dispute has erupted in Tshwane after the Democratic Alliance (DA) flagged double billing on the controversial cleansing levy, with sectional title property owners seeing the charge reflected on their September accounts.
DA Tshwane spokesperson in finance, Jacqui Uys, said the error proved the city could not manage who should be billed. Uys also criticised the city for spending R782 566 on legal battles over the levy.
In response to DA concerns, Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya cited information provided by the chief financial officer Gareth Mnisi, and governance and support officer Musa Khumalo, where Tshwane petitioned the Supreme Court of Appeal on September 22, 2025 after losing their case with the Pretoria High Court on the cleansing levy.
“The full amount budgeted for the cleansing levy was R278 052 090. No expenses were allocated against this amount, which means that the removal of the levy only reduces the City’s budgeted surplus. The budget nevertheless remains legally funded in terms of the MFMA, albeit with a reduced margin,” said Moya.
They also indicated that its removal would not immediately have a negative impact on service delivery.
Fixing it
Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the city is working to fix billing errors caused by the implementation of the cleansing levy.
He said about 12 000 accounts out of a total of 780 000 were affected by this situation. A special team has been set up to process bulk reversals and correct the billing system.
“It must be emphasised that the city will only do a reversal credit to the accounts of those customers who have already made payments on the cleansing tariff. There will be no cash payments.
“While the corrections are already being processed on the system, customers are reminded that due to the billing cycle timelines, the adjustments will only become visible in their subsequent monthly statements, which will be the October 2025 statement,” said Bokaba.
Bokaba said both technical and revenue teams are checking each account. He said the City is also strengthening its internal controls, reviewing billing processes and putting in stricter safeguards to prevent the same problem happening again
He said Tshwane has also taken the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal after losing its case in the Pretoria High Court on the cleansing levy. Bokaba emphasised that the appeal automatically suspends the high court judgement.3
“The City of Tshwane acknowledges the frustration that the billing anomalies has caused, which came as a result of a system configuration error, and reiterates its commitment to dealing with such maters fairly, transparently, and efficiently,” said Bokaba.
“The city cleaning charges that were reversed were reinstated and all customers not utilising city waste collection services will continue to be charged cleaning charge,” he added.
