South Africa’s largest retailer caught in the crossfire

Shoprite Arcadia, which forms part of South Africa’s largest retailer’s network, was allegedly disconnected for owing millions in electricity bills as part of a campaign run by Tshwane’s mayor to settle outstanding utility bills.

However, Shoprite clarified to Daily Investor that this store is a tenant at the Suncardia Shopping Centre in Arcadia, Tshwane.

“The supermarket chain’s bill is paid in full, and the supermarket is fully operational. The retailer does not condone the non-payment of municipal bills,” the company said.

City of Tshwane executive mayor Nasiphi Moya visited the Shoprite in Arcadia on Monday, 10 March 2025, claiming that it owes the municipality R7.3 million.

“We’ve switched them off for sitting on money that belongs to the city, placing profits ahead of paying their bills,” Moya said.

She added that Shoprite knows what to do. “If they cannot afford their bills, they need to approach us and make an arrangement.”

Moya added that the moment they pay their bills to make a payment arrangement, Shoprite in Arcadia will be switched back on.

“We are hammering on about the same thing: Big businesses must do the right thing and comply with the law,” she said.

“We are not targeting big businesses. However, we have realised that they are too relaxed and hardly do the right thing.”

She said it is regrettable that Shoprite customers will be inconvenienced but that the City of Tshwane must do the right thing.

However, the mayor has since walked back her statements, saying the owner of the Suncardia Shopping Centre has reached out to her teams with the intention to settle.

“They’ve clarified that they are the client. I apologize for the misattribution and appreciate the correction – the issue lies with their landlord, not Shoprite,” she said.

Earlier in the day, Moya explained that the City of Tshwane has a debtor’s book of R29 billion, which pressured its finances. “We must collect from those who are not paying us,” she said.

The municipality is one of Eskom’s biggest debtors, and in December 2024, it reached an agreement with the utility to address its R6.66 billion debt burden.

This came after Eskom took Tshwane to court for bulk electricity supply arrear debt, and the matter was set for hearing on 26 and 27 November 2024.

However, the two parties met and agreed on a five-year payment arrangement plan, which was made an order of court on 26 November 2024.

Under this plan, the City of Tshwane committed to making an initial payment of R400 million in December 2024, with the last payment scheduled for March 2029.

Therefore, as the city’s financial health struggles, largely due to unpaid utility bills, Moya has been running an on-the-ground campaign to hold businesses with outstanding debts accountable.

She has been documenting this campaign through social media, calling it the ‘TshwaneYaTima’ operation.

On Monday alone, she visited several locations that allegedly owe millions on their utility bills, including the Shoprite location that was mistakenly included.

For example, she visited the Sheraton Hotel in Arcadia, Pretoria, which she claimed owed the city R1.42 million for electricity.

“We’ve switched the hotel off many times before, but they still refuse to honour their payment agreements with the city,” the mayor said.

She claimed that the hotel’s management said it could make a payment immediately.

Moya also visited Bothongo Plaza on Francis Baard Street on Monday. This business allegedly owes the city R5.92 million.

Another location the mayor visited on Monday was the Homii Building on Helen Joseph Street. Moya said the building owes the municipality R2.17 million.

“We spoke to the manager over the phone, and he only managed to pay about R350,000, which isn’t enough,” Moya said. “We switched them off.”

The next location was Powertech Transformers in Pretoria West. The mayor said this business owes the city R1.19 million.

“Just as we were on their doorstep to switch off the electricity, they paid their bill,” she said.

Her last stop for the day was Braai and Barbeque in Pretoria West, which allegedly owes the city R1.41 million.

Inside TshwaneYaTima

Below are some of the images Moya shared on social media from her TshwaneYaTima operation on Monday, 10 March.