The City of Tshwane has announced the establishment of a subcommittee to address properties with old leases that have been left unattended.

This follows the discovery of properties that have either not paid for essential services or have paid less due to their lease agreements, which do not reflect the current service rates.

A recent case involves the owner of a building in Watloo, who claims that a 1997 agreement exempts him from paying municipal service fees. However, the city states that the property now owes R3.8 million.

The City’s MMC for Environment and Agriculture Management Obakeng Ramabodu has blamed this on corruption.

“We had a restaurant that we were shocked, I was shocked that they were paying one rand a month to that area and that lease … it was an old lease. We have since cancelled it, and we have changed the rent to today’s market.”

“We have evicted the people who were there. There are areas that have not changed. Areas like Menlyn Maine, which is a new development. It hasn’t changed its rates since it was established. And the markets change and the rate changes, and there’s no change, it’s still the flat rate,” Ramabodu explains.

PODCAST | Full interview with MMC for Environment and Agriculture Management, Obakeng Ramabodu:

It is lawless to believe that an agreement signed nearly three decades ago exempts one from paying for essential services today. The Watloo building’s R3.8 million debt to Tshwane is not negotiable. Our stance is clear: the City cannot function if some benefit from services while… pic.twitter.com/34vHhxtRSg

— 𝔹𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕋𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕘𝕠 𝕆𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕨𝕖 (@Ngwana_Badimu) October 6, 2025