Water cut off at Sandton Gautrain station: Landlord 'owes R8m' for services

[lowriderza]

I remember a helper we had years ago used to tell us their township mayor would say "don't pay your water, the white man invented paying for water!" and then once a month they'de go and dig-up and destroy some JW Water main pipes for no apparent reason other than being spurned on by the mayor. To which they would then demonstrate that they have no water and JHB Water is taking too long to fix.

Politicians...

 

[Gaz{M}]

Not surprising. CoJ does nothing if you don't pay for years and then out of the blue a debt collector will call you to ask why you haven't paid. CoJ make zero effort to ever contact you to pay, even though all your contact details are on the deed etc. They just hand over and lose out a huge commission on the debt.

 

[surface]

Not surprising. CoJ does nothing if you don't pay for years and then out of the blue a debt collector will call you to ask why you haven't paid. CoJ make zero effort to ever contact you to pay, even though all your contact details are on the deed etc. They just hand over and lose out a huge commission on the debt.

I remember I got one termination notice once when I forgot to pay one month.

 

[dualmeister]

So the City of Johannesburg did nothing from 2013 to 2018 when he did not pay his bills.
Well done. Viva ANC!

 

[krycor]

Well at the current going rate for etoll debt, the freeways in jhb/pta dont belong to sanral or gauteng either.

Actually it's part of the broader traffic plan for Gauteng i.e. they realised that without toll roads the number of vehicles on GFIP would not decline and no matter how many lanes they built, it would always be saturated. This ironically has been proven true globally but particularly in US which has this problem. Only way to fix is to increase public transit + feeder systems.

That being said it's tough.. sometimes i get interviews in Pta or Jhb city and then i look at the transit plan and go.. bleh, i'd rather stay especially when the increase (if any) on offer doesn't offset the transit and risk cost.

 

[Gordon_R]

Seems an even bigger irregularity was involved in the sale of municipal land to a private consortium: https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/...n-into-sale-of-sandton-gautrain-land-20190919

The City of Johannesburg has kicked off a full forensic investigation into an apparent dodgy sale of the land where the Sandton Gautrain Station is situated.

In a statement released on Thursday, executive mayor, Herman Mashaba, said damning information came to light during a billing issue with the property, currently before the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

The issue stems from a 2009 agreement between Joburg Property Group, on behalf of the City, and Cedar Park.

Joburg Property Group sold the land to Cedar Park for R280m, "however, the transfer of this land was only registered in the Deeds Office in 2013," the statement said.

 

[ForceFate]

I remember I got one termination notice once when I forgot to pay one month.

Not CoJ but something similar happened to me before. I skipped a month and my electricity was summarily cut off. I resolved the matter the same afternoon and guess what...few days later, I was slapped with a huge fine for tempering with municipal property. What? Apparently they thought I reconnected myself. Surely they could've just checked their billing system to verify before doing it?

I called the &€¥%, asked them to check date and time of payment. They promptly resolved the issue and apologised.

 

[Hemi300c]

"Landlord" my ass more like a cadre or cadres with a trail of corruption.
Investigate and you will find huge corruption behind the ownership of the station and others.
But it's the DA which has to open the can of worms because the anc are ALL criminals and protect each other in order to protect themselves.

 

[schumi]

Sandton Gautrain Station enters third week without water

Johannesburg - The City of Joburg isn’t backing down in its fight to recoup R8million owed by the Gautrain Sandton station.

At stake is the possible investigation into a sale of property on the station.


This means for a third week in a row, the busy station will be without water and passengers will still need to resort to portable toilets.

At the centre of the fight is the city wanting Cedar Park, the landlord of the station, to pay its R8million debt owed to the city for water, refuse, sewerage and property rates.

But the Bombela Concession Company claims it is being unfairly treated as their water accounts are up to date.

Last week, the city released a media statement condemning what appears to be an irregular sale of the land, on which the station is situated, to Cedar Park Properties.

Said Barbara Jensen, on behalf of Gautrain Management Agency and Bombela, they have paid their water account in full.

“Cutting off water to an innocent service paying third party like Gautrain is not a way to solve legal matters and does not do the image of Joburg as a world-class African city any good,” she said.

“While the management companies support Joburg in its efforts to deal decisively with any acts of criminality within the city, we wish to clarify the following which the city failed to disclose in its statement.

“Up to 2006, the property was owned by the city. In June 2006, a part of it was acquired by the Gauteng provincial government as a public transport project and in terms of section 11 of the Gauteng Transport Infrastructure Act of 2001.

More at: https://www.iol.co.za/the-star/news...tion-enters-third-week-without-water-33530160

 

[Gordon_R]

Gives a new meaning to the phrase "You can't fight City Hall".

Whose idea was it to have as a landlord some dodgy group who don't pay rates ontime? I know you can't move a station, but you should do some due diligence before signing a lease.

Worst case: they should pay the outstanding amount direct to the city, and cut out the middleman.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Now thats a surprise, a Gupta link. /sarcasm

Fact that they let the debt get to 8 million means someone at the muni had a hand in this surely.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Gives a new meaning to the phrase "You can't fight City Hall".

Whose idea was it to have as a landlord some dodgy group who don't pay rates ontime? I know you can't move a station, but you should do some due diligence before signing a lease.

Worst case: they should pay the outstanding amount direct to the city, and cut out the middleman.

Someone was well aware of who they were dealing with IMO.

 

[Sinbad]

Gives a new meaning to the phrase "You can't fight City Hall".

Whose idea was it to have as a landlord some dodgy group who don't pay rates ontime? I know you can't move a station, but you should do some due diligence before signing a lease.

Worst case: they should pay the outstanding amount direct to the city, and cut out the middleman.

It's Gupta linked

 

[Gordon_R]

It's Gupta linked

I know about the Gupta link, if you read my earlier comment. Still, no point in complaining if your landlord is corrupt/incompetent/whatever. That's what due diligence means, avoiding nasty surprises...

 

[Mila]

How is the porta potties smelling?

 

[ToxicBunny]

Gautrain station water cuts: Mashaba 'scoring cheap political points' - Mamabolo

Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba's comments on Sandton Gautrain station water cuts display 'extreme desperation', Gauteng Public Transport and Road Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo says.

www.news24.com

Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba's comments on Sandton Gautrain station water cuts display "extreme desperation", Gauteng Public Transport and Road Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo said.

Mamabolo said Mashaba was trying to drag the Gauteng provincial government (GPG) and Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) into a rates and taxes dispute between the City and the station's landlord, Cedar Park Properties.

No Jacob my friend, this is about an unpaid bill on a property. Its unfortunate that the Gautrain station is being affected by this, but get Cedar Park to pay their bill and this problem will go away.

 

[Aquila ka Hecate]

How is the porta potties smelling?

I can't smell them, but I walk a couple of hundred metres away from the closest ones. Besides, I'm a smoker.
I'm more disgusted by the mess the station is in at 5:30 in the morning. Rubbish everywhere.

 

[Excalibur]

Gautrain says bill has been settled.

 

[Aquila ka Hecate]

Gautrain says bill has been settled.

View attachment 717411

Relief through the courts, and not through the public loos?

 

[surface]

I know about the Gupta link, if you read my earlier comment. Still, no point in complaining if your landlord is corrupt/incompetent/whatever. That's what due diligence means, avoiding nasty surprises...

I am pretty sure no one who signed these dodgy deals expected today's scenario (gupta fled to dubai etc..) so there was no need to DD.