The Consulate General of Nigeria in Illovo has been disconnected from municipal services over an outstanding account of approximately R7 million, as the City of Johannesburg intensifies its crackdown on major debtors.
Johannesburg Executive Mayor Dada Morero confirmed the action, saying City teams had disconnected the consulate’s electricity while Johannesburg Water had already imposed a Level 2 disconnection on its water supply.
Why has the consulate not paid?
The City has not publicly provided a specific explanation from the Nigerian consulate for why the approximately R7 million municipal bill remains unpaid.
As a result, it cannot be established from the information released by the City whether the debt is being disputed, whether there have been administrative or billing problems, or whether the consulate simply failed to settle its municipal account.
What is clear is that the City regards the amount as outstanding arrears and has moved to enforce its credit-control measures.
The City of Johannesburg said the consulate’s electricity had already been cut, while Johannesburg Water recently enforced the Level 2 water restriction. Morero said the action demonstrated that municipal payment obligations would be applied consistently.
“Our teams have just disconnected the Consulate General of Nigeria in Illovo, where their municipal account currently reflects an outstanding balance of approximately R7 million,” Morero said.
City targets R139 million in outstanding accounts
The consulate was among several high-value debtors targeted during the City’s latest revenue collection operation, which focused on accounts collectively worth about R139 million.
A Shell Garage on Glenhove Road was also disconnected after its municipal account exceeded R7 million. Another Illovo property was facing water and electricity restrictions over arrears of more than R6 million, with the City also citing illegal reconnections, meter tampering and unregistered billing.
The latest action forms part of a broader effort by Johannesburg to improve revenue collection as the municipality faces significant financial and service-delivery pressures.
Morero has previously acknowledged that the City needs to improve its cash flow and revenue performance. In July, he said Johannesburg had to do more to strengthen its finances, while defending the municipality’s overall financial position.
No special treatment for diplomatic sites
The consulate’s diplomatic status has not stopped the City from enforcing its municipal credit-control measures.
Morero stressed that the enforcement action was about applying payment obligations uniformly, regardless of whether the account belongs to a resident, business or diplomatic institution.
“This underscores the importance of uniform compliance with payment obligations for all residents,” Morero said.
The City has increasingly turned to aggressive revenue collection as it attempts to recover money owed for municipal services.
Earlier this year, Morero also led operations targeting buildings with substantial outstanding bills. In May, Marble Towers in the Johannesburg CBD faced proposed water and electricity cuts over a R14 million municipal debt, although the building owners obtained a court order temporarily halting the disconnections.
Pressure to collect as Joburg battles service-delivery problems
The revenue drive comes as Johannesburg continues to grapple with ageing infrastructure, water losses, electricity challenges and pressure on municipal finances.
Johannesburg Water has warned that the city’s water network remains under significant strain, with ageing infrastructure, illegal connections and historical underinvestment contributing to the problem.
The City has argued that recovering outstanding municipal debt is necessary to support essential services and infrastructure investment.
For now, the Nigerian consulate remains among the City’s high-value debtors, with approximately R7 million outstanding and both electricity and water services subject to disconnection measures.
The consulate’s side
The City has not disclosed any response from the Consulate General of Nigeria explaining the unpaid account. Until the consulate provides its own explanation, the reason behind the non-payment remains unclear.
