Developer faces R10m fine
City of Joburg accuses builder of stealing water and electricity to build complex
A GAUTENG property developer has been accused of stealing council water and electricity to build a complex in Bramley, Joburg.
The City of Joburg said it was expecting to slap the developer with a R10 million fine for flouting council by-laws to build The Village residential complex.
Africrest Properties is believed to have been stealing water and electricity since 2017.
City of Joburg acting group head for Revenue Shared Services Centre Lufuno Mashau confirmed there were illegal water connections at the construction site.
He said they were still working on remedying the illegal connections.
Mashau said fines amounting to R3.4m for phase water consumption of over 44 000 kilolitres during construction is being raised by the billing department.
“The cost for construction phase water usage is expected to be about R4m. All in all, charges of about R10m will be raised for the developer,” Mashau said.
Africrest Properties spokesperson Justin Blend said the property in question belongs to Pixie Dust Trading 42 (Pty) Ltd.
They are, however, contractors working on the development.
Blend said they were aware of the illegal connections which, he said, existed long before they started building the property. “We believe this was the case before the property was purchased.”
They confirmed that they were working together with the city to resolve the matter.
“The City of Johannesburg has allowed Pixie Dust to install new water connections.
“Therefore, all our water and electricity connections are legal,”
Blend said.
However, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said initial investigations by the city established that the construction site was not registered to receive electricity from City Power.
“It does not have a City Power meter. Under these circumstances, City Power is obligated to execute a disconnection,” Mangena said.
He said that illegal connections were costing the city R2bn annually and should be reported when there is a suspicion of such.
Residents said they were also concerned about the number of units in the building.
“Now they are building 160 units per hectare, this is four times what it should be,” said a resident who wanted to remain anonymous.
Blend said Pixie Dust Trading applied for a rezone and the city approved a rezone which allowed for 160 units per hectare.
City of Joburg’s Department of Development Planning spokesperson Poppy Louw said the development is as per approved rights indicated in the zoning of the property which is Residential 3 permitting a specific density of 160 dwelling units per hectare.