Pretoria - A message meant to cause panic among residents – circulating on social media – that the City of Tshwane has a planned household disconnection campaign has been dismissed as fake news.
The message by unknown senders is mobilising residents to fight off those dispatched by the municipality to disconnect defaulting customers from electricity and water supply.
According to the message, the disconnectors would come to households under the guise of being meter readers, while their main intention would be to cut off power and water connections.
Residents were informed that the municipality planned to embark on a campaign to disconnect households with effect from yesterday.
It was said that the campaign was a “provocation at its best by the arrogant multiparty coalition.
“We don’t have services for almost six weeks. Instead of providing basic services, they embark on revenue collection and Tshwane Ya Tima. Be on alert. Have your whistles. Let’s defend our rights,” said the message.
Tshwane Ya Tima is the aggressive revenue collection campaign targeting customers in arrears and disconnecting their electricity and water supply services.
Reacting to the message on X (formerly Twitter), Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink said: “We have noticed a message doing the rounds on social media that tomorrow the City is allegedly launching a household disconnection campaign. This is not true. It’s fake news.”
Meanwhile, the City has also rejected as fake news another message on social media that residents must stock up water because striking municipal workers were going to sabotage reservoirs across the municipality.
Municipal spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the message was disseminated in an audio clip circulating on social media in Afrikaans, alleging that the City’s striking employees are on their way to sabotage reservoirs.
Furthermore, Bokaba said, the message called on residents to rush and stock up water while there was still water flowing out of their taps, as there won’t be any water supply from September 7.
“This is patently fake news, which should be disregarded. If there’s any message to be shared with residents about water supply, it will be communicated through the City’s official communication channels,” he said.
Pretoria News