Ideal Prepaid Smart Meters - Kgetlengrivier

Sakeliga won a case against an unauthorized third-party service provider that had been collecting service fees and taxes in an opaque manner on behalf of the Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality. Sakeliga and local businesspeople brought the lawsuit to prevent damage after the municipality illegitimately decided to appoint Ideal Prepaid, a service provider already managing the town's electricity sales, to further collect levies and taxes on the municipality's behalf. However, the wrongful collections were to occur without proper invoicing at unaffordable commissions on municipal taxes and be paid into private bank accounts without proper oversight. • The court order helps to protect the town's businesspeople and other residents against illegitimate and unaffordable municipal collections. • The court affirmed the principle that debt collection can only be undertaken by a municipality where proper and legitimate bills are issued to residents.