Leeuwkop prison’s water supply restored after settling R9.8m bill

Water supply has been restored to Leeuwkop correctional facility after the prison settled its massive water bill, the City of Johannesburg confirmed on Monday.

The prison was among 10 big businesses and establishments targeted by the city in its latest revenue collection drive. These included a hotel, large residential estates and a panel beating business who collectively owe the city more than R104m in unpaid services, the city said on Friday.

The drive saw one business owner arrested after he “illegally connected his business to both water and electricity supply”.

Leeuwkop landed in hot water for a R9.8m bill that included interest.

The drive was led by city manager Floyd Brink, the city’s revenue department and various entities.

The City of Joburg’s Nkosana Lekotjolo confirmed that the facility had been reconnected at the weekend after the bill was settled.

This was confirmed by correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo.

“They came to us [after disconnection] and said they wanted to settle the bill. Because they were owing, with interest, R9.8m — but they settled that,” he said.

He also explained that the prison’s bill accrued over a 60-day period and denied claims that the facility had not been invoiced over that period, hence the failure to pay.

“It’s a huge institution so their water bill alone is huge. So if you miss one payment, with interest and everything, it accumulates,” Lekotjolo said.

Lekotjolo was unable to provide an exact figure for all the businesses reconnected since Friday, saying that the city would release a statement once all the information has been consolidated.

Correctional services said there was no interruption to water supply during the disconnection, as the facility “has water reservoirs [which] supplied water throughout”.

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