A Johannesburg Water employee and two developers from the Waterfall Investment Company have been arrested for allegedly stealing water from the City of Johannesburg during the development of Waterfall City.

The suspects, Faisel Abrahams, Irvine Steyn and Yvette Scheepers, appeared at the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court where they were charged with fraud and corruption and were granted bail of R5000 each.

According to Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba an investigation by the City’s Group Forensic and Investigation Services Unit (GFIS) and Operation Buya Mthetho, revealed that the Waterfall Investment Company allegedly obtained water meters illegally from Abrahams and used them during construction at Waterfall City. Mashaba says the meters were not registered on the City’s billing system.

An urgent audit underway

Instead of applying for bulk water meter which can cost up to R140 000, Mashaba says Waterfall Investment Company allegedly colluded with Abrahams to obtain the meter and continue with the development.

“The Operation Buya Mthetho team is currently conducting an audit of all the water meters installed at Waterfall City and to establish the total water consumption by Waterfall Investment Company.

It is unfortunate that some developers have found ways to engage in irregular practices which seeks to circumvent due process and end with massive revenue leakages for the City,” the mayor notes.

Services being used are illegal

MMC for Finance, Funzela Ngobeni recently visited Waterfall City and discovered that some water meters were not reading despite continues use of water. It was also discovered that the development is not registered, meaning the services that are used by tenants and the developers are also illegal.

“Further investigations on site revealed that most water connections in this property development, access water without metering, resulting in loss of revenue to the City because water usage cannot be measured without a meter,”Mashaba explains.

The City of Johannesburg loses R5-8 billion annually due to revenue leakages and accounts being deleted off the billing system. Mashaba says the City is working with all state enforcement agencies and will not leave a stone unturned in dealing with criminal activities such as these.