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Claims that R1.8 billion was lost in Tshwane Peu meter deal ‘untrue’

Acting executive mayor of Tshwane, Abel Tau - also Utility Services MMC - has rubbished claims the metro lost R1.8 billion in uncollected revenue from former customers of Peu electricity smart meters.

He was reacting to claims by ANC regional chairperson Dr Kgosi Maepa that the City “lost R1.8bn in uncollected revenue of smart meters that were not operational for four months”. He said the statement by Maepa was a distortion of the truth. “We have not lost money,” he said.

Maepa had said: “After the cancellation of the Peu contract by the court, where the City lost R2bn, the DA has lost another R1.8bn in four months on its own smart meter project of sorts. We call upon the auditor-general to review these smart meter contracts and how the R1.8bn was lost in 120 days.”

The contract was cancelled after business rights organisation AfriSake brought up a case at the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, against the City’s irregular contract with Peu. The court also ordered that the meters be replaced with the City’s infrastructure. Tau said the City only lagged behind in terms of revenue collection from the top 50 users, who were on prepaid.

He, however, said the situation had long been corrected and that R1.5bn was recovered. “With Peu, we have always alluded to the fact that the City was not completely ready for the changeover. Because we were not completely ready we ended up with the situation whereby the top users were put up on post paid. That meant that the revenue that we could have gotten upfront we got much later,” Tau said.

He reiterated that the City moved away from the Peu smart meters because it wanted to stop paying R4 million a day into the contract. Meanwhile, Tau shed light over claims that the utility department’s 12 senior officials, who were given letters with intention to suspend them, were off the hook. The officials, who included department head Stephens Notoane, were in trouble with the City for problems related to the migration of Peu smart meters to its infrastructure.

Tau said: “There were 12 people who were part of the Utility who were asked to give reasons why they should not be suspended pending a full investigation into the situation. “They gave reasons and no one was suspended because the reasons they gave were sufficient. I don’t think there was anything untoward when we called our officials to account.”

Source: www.iol.co.za

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Claims that R1.8 billion was lost in Tshwane Peu meter deal ‘untrue’

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