Johannesburg children’s center without electricity for 19 days — Daily Maverick
The Children’s Memorial Institute (CMI) in the Parktown area of Johannesburg, South Africa, has remained without electricity for the 19th consecutive day. Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero visited the facility on September 16 and promised to restore power the following day, but City Power employees said that a signed debt agreement was required. This was reported by Daily Maverick.
CMI managing director Dee Blackie said that on September 19 she received a message from Lufuno Mashau, head of the city’s revenue unit. According to her, the city manager informed the Gauteng Department of Health that electricity could be restored only after a formal payment plan was submitted. Mashau also said that department representatives and a provincial executive council member did not attend the meeting requested by the mayor. A new meeting was planned for Monday.
Debt of 159.2 million rand
According to the outlet, the total outstanding utility debt on the main accounts of the Gauteng Department of Health amounts to 159.2 million rand. Of this, more than 86.3 million rand is for water supply and sewerage at Johannesburg Hospital, 44.4 million rand is for electricity for the Children’s/New Children’s Hospital, and about 28.5 million rand is for water supply at Johannesburg Hospital.
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In recent months, the Gauteng Department of Health has made payments of about 30 million rand, but municipal data show that this is less than one-fifth of the debt. In a letter to the leadership of Gauteng’s departments of infrastructure development, health and education, Blackie said that officials may be failing to comply with two High Court rulings. These rulings required the relevant provincial government departments to resolve internal disputes over utilities within 14 days after a July 2025 ruling.
Operating on generators and by phone light
The outage has affected 22 non-governmental organizations working with children, as well as 365 pupils at the Johannesburg School for Children with Autism. The Gauteng Department of Education occupies nearly half of CMI’s rentable space for this school, but since April 2024 it has not paid for security, cleaning and maintenance costs. According to CMI, the department’s debt to the institution has exceeded 3.2 million rand.
At CMI’s pediatric dental clinic, doctors are treating patients with acute pain, sepsis and injuries using mobile phone flashlights. The laundry on the complex’s premises, which serves Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, two other hospitals and 13 clinics, operates on backup generators. According to CMI, it uses about 1,000 liters of diesel per day, costing more than 30,000 rand daily. Johannesburg city authorities and the Gauteng Department of Health did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment.
