Johannesburg – City Power has disconnected electricity supply to the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand over outstanding bills running into millions of rand.
In a statement made available to The Bulrushes on Monday, 21 September 2026, City Power said the disconnection of power to the building occupied by the PAP follows non-payment of the municipal account.
“The team attended to the premises on Monday morning to execute the disconnection but was initially refused access,” the statement said.
“City Power, together with the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), subsequently carried out the disconnection this afternoon.”
City Power revealed that the account in question was in arrears of just over R37 million.
“The most recent payment received was R50 000 on 14 September 2026,” the statement said.
“Despite this payment, the account remains substantially in arrears.”
This is not the first time the City has had to take action against the premises over outstanding municipal debt.
City Power said in September 2024 that it disconnected the building as part of a disconnection operation involving customers with a combined outstanding debt of about R28 million.
City Power said it was concerned that, despite previous interventions, including the 2024 disconnection, a substantial municipal debt has once again accumulated on the account.
“The current arrears of R37.2 million are significantly higher than the R28 million in combined debt reported during the September 2024 disconnection operation,” the statement said.
“The Pan-African Parliament occupies the premises, while the South African government is responsible for the arrangements relating to the accommodation of the institution.
Public records indicate that the Department of Public Works has historically been responsible for rental payments relating to accommodation leased for PAP.
“The City’s Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) function continues to facilitate engagement with national and provincial government departments and other government entities to address outstanding municipal debt and strengthen coordination around the settlement of government accounts,” the statement said.
“This forms part of the City’s broader efforts to improve revenue collection and ensure that all government entities meet their financial obligations to the City, while City Power continues to implement its credit-control processes consistently.”
City Power said it expects all government departments, public institutions and other customers to honour their municipal accounts.
“Government-related premises are not exempt from the City’s credit-control processes, and continued non-payment may result in disconnection in accordance with applicable procedures,” the statement said.
“City Power urges the responsible parties to settle the outstanding account or engage with the City through the appropriate channels regarding a payment arrangement, to avoid further disruption of electricity supply.”
