Gautrain passengers left high and dry by water fight

In the heart of the richest square mile in Africa, water is in short supply as a battle rages on between the City of Johannesburg and the landlord of the Sandton Gautrain station, which allegedly owes R8m in property rates and services.

The city has also alleged that the land was irregularly bought in a deal with a company that has ties to Regiments Capital. Regiments is linked to the Gupta family, the friends of former president Jacob Zuma, who are at the heart of the state capture allegations that have come to define his time in office.

It has been three weeks since the city, the biggest in the SA economic engine of Gauteng, cut the water supply to the station, which is used by about 20,000 passengers every day.

Passengers and staff now cannot use the bathroom facilities at the station, and are rerouted to portable toilets.

Grimy tiles line the affected area. The current situation is in stark contrast to the image the province wants to portray with the ultramodern trains, which started operating in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup.

Staff working in the station and surrounds were not willing to be named but used words such as “terrible” and “struggling” to describe what the better part of September has been like for them.

It is not only commuters and staff who have been affected, with businesses that line the same block as the station also having had to do without water for the past three weeks.

These include a coffee shop, a Krispy Kreme, a hairdresser, a barber, an African Bank outlet and a minisupermarket.

One of the small business owners, who did not want to be identified, said he hopes the situation is resolved soon.

“Of course we are affected. How can you run a business without water?” he asked. “They say water is life.”

The city is adamant that water will remain cut off until the bill is settled. Last week the matter ended up in court when Cedar Park Properties, the landlord, tried to force the city to restore water supplies. The firm was ordered to pay security of R1m within 20 days, mayor Herman Mashaba’s spokesperson Tony Taverna-Turison said.

“The city will not be bullied by corporate customers who have failed to honour their debt, while our hard-working residents are expected to fork out their hard-earned money to settle their monthly debt.”

When the city cut the station’s water earlier in September, it said this was due to its growing debtor’s book and it could not afford to have its highconsuming corporate customers fall behind on payments.

Mashaba said that in 2009 the Joburg Property Company sold the portion of land where the station is situated to Cedar Park for R280m. This transfer of land was only registered in the deeds office in 2013. A bond was simultaneously issued by the city, in favour of Cedar Park, for the R280m.

“One must ask, why would the city ever finance the sale of its own land to a private company?” Mashaba asked. He alleged that the person who signed that sale agreement on behalf of Cedar Park, and the one who

IT HAS BEEN THREE WEEKS SINCE THE WATER SUPPLY TO THE STATION, USED BY 20,000 PASSENGERS A DAY, WAS CUT

R8m the amount allegedly owed by the landlord of the Sandton Gautrain station to the City of Johannesburg

deposed the affidavit for the company in the current case with the city, were both Regiments Capital officials.

While the dispute raged with the landlord, the Gauteng provincial government and the Bombela Concession Company, which operates the Gautrain, have stepped into the fray. Bombela and the province will be in court next week in a bid to force the city to restore water.

Last week the Gautrain Management Agency and Bombela in a joint statement said the station was not a tenant of Cedar Park and that its water account was fully paid and up to date.

“Cutting off water to an innocent service-paying third party like Gautrain is not a way to solve legal matters and does not do the image of Johannesburg as a world-class African city any good,” they said.

Gauteng MEC for roads & transport Jacob Mamabolo said on Thursday if the city believes there is corruption in the sale of the property it should investigate such alleged malfeasance, but trying to drag the provincial government and the Gautrain into the matter is “really unfortunate and regrettable”.