The City of Tshwane has ordered the restoration of electricity and water to South Africa’s national Department of Basic Education (DBE) headquarters after admitting that the utility disconnection was carried out in error during efforts to recover more than R104 million in unpaid municipal debt linked to public schools.
The disruption affected the department’s head office on Struben Street in Pretoria on Thursday, prompting an immediate response from Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, who insisted that the department’s municipal account was fully paid and carried no outstanding balance.
Following discussions between city officials and national government representatives, Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya instructed municipal teams to reconnect services on Friday morning.
At the time of reporting, officials had not confirmed whether the reconnection process had been completed.
City Targets School Debt But Disconnects Wrong Office
According to the City of Tshwane, approximately 200 public schools within the metro owe more than R104 million in unpaid municipal accounts.
Mayor Moya said the growing debt has placed increasing financial pressure on the municipality, arguing that local government has limited legal options to recover outstanding payments following a High Court ruling that prevents municipalities from disconnecting essential services directly to schools.
The city initially intended to disconnect district education offices linked to indebted schools. However, City Manager officials later acknowledged that the national Department of Basic Education headquarters was mistakenly disconnected instead.
Gwarube welcomed the admission, saying it confirmed the department’s long-standing position that it had no outstanding municipal debt.
“I can confirm that the national Department of Basic Education’s account with the City of Tshwane is not owing a single cent,” she said.
Education Department Rejects Responsibility For School Debt
The minister stressed that responsibility for managing public schools lies with provincial education departments rather than the national department.
She argued that while disputes may exist between the municipality and the Gauteng Department of Education over unpaid municipal accounts, there was no legal justification for interrupting services to the national department.
During the outage, the DBE continued operating through backup generators and reserve water supplies.
However, the department warned that running generators throughout the day costs tens of thousands of rand, diverting public funds that should instead be directed towards improving education services and supporting learners.
The department also informed the Office of the State Attorney that legal action would be considered should municipal services not be restored promptly.
Meanwhile, senior DBE officials engaged directly with the City Manager while Gwarube personally contacted Mayor Moya in an effort to resolve the dispute.
Although ordering the immediate restoration of services, Moya maintained that the broader issue of unpaid municipal debt remains unresolved.
She said the city will continue exploring all lawful mechanisms to compel the relevant provincial education authorities to settle outstanding municipal accounts, arguing that municipalities cannot continue delivering essential services indefinitely without payment.
The dispute has once again highlighted the financial strain facing municipalities across South Africa as they seek to recover growing public-sector debt while balancing legal obligations to maintain essential public services.
Source: City of Tshwane and Department of Basic Education.