This comes amidst reports that the Charlotte Maxeke hospital was at risk of having its electricity cut on Thursday unless it paid the R40 million light bill.

The Gauteng Department of Health has disputed the figure of R43 million reportedly owed by the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital to City Power, which has threatened to cut off electricity supply to the hospital.

This comes amidst media reports that the hospital was at risk of having its electricity cut on Thursday unless it paid the R40 million light bill.

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Thursday, ahead of the cut-off, spokesperson for the department, Motalatale Modiba said the department had paid at least R30 million of this bill.

“The city has given figures of how much it is owing. But if you look at Charlotte Maxeke for example, there is a figure of about R40 million that is being mentioned. We went through our records, and I can confirm that of that R40 million, we have already paid about R32 million. We are left with two invoices of about R5 million which are currently being processed and another one which is being loaded onto the system,” Modiba said.

Referring to the Helen Joseph hospital, Modiba said: “There was a figure of R13 million that was mentioned. That amount has been fully paid.”

According to City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena, despite commitments from the provincial government to settle its outstanding debt, there were still multiple hospitals in the red with Charlotte Maxeke being among those owing the most.

“The highest on the list is Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital and also Charlotte Maxeke Joburg Hospital, with (the) Joburg hospital basically owing about R41 million. And they are due for disconnection on Thursday, tomorrow,” he said.

Mangena said even though the situation was “unfortunate”, the utility had no option but to cut off power supply to some of the affected hospitals.

“This really puts us in a really difficult and unfortunate position, where we find ourselves being forced to basically cut off electricity to some of these facilities. We will continue to engage the provincial leadership with a view to resolve this matter amicably,” he said.

The DA in the province weighed in on the matter, with DA shadow MEC of health, Jack Bloom, saying the matter should be prioritised by the department to avoid the impending cut-offs,“ Bloom said.

According to City Power, the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital owes R41 million, Helen Joseph Hospital R13 million, Rahima Moosa Hospital R4 million, South Rand Hospital R3 million and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital R2.6 million.

“I highlighted the huge power bills owed by hospitals in August this year, but the department seems to be in denial about its obligation to pay in time like everybody else,” Bloom said.

The DA has called for Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to step in urgently to ensure speedy payment of all municipal bills.

Two months ago, City Power had threatened to cut the lights of Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph hospitals, but this was averted. Modiba said the department had at the time proceeded to pay the power utility for its services.

“In August and September, we paid City Power for the two hospitals. This could be an issue of reconciliation as we get billed by the city but the service is provided by City Power. So there might be delays or discrepancies,” Modiba said.

The Star

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