Durban schools face utility disconnections due to unpaid bills

Several schools in the eThekwini Municipality had their water and electricity services disconnected due to unpaid bills. 

The latest school to have its teaching disrupted was Assegai Primary School in Wentworth, when the water supply was disconnected on Saturday.

Andre de Bruin, the chairperson of the Assegai Primary School Governing Body (SGB), said the disconnections are disrupting schooling hours, with Jojo storage tanks now being used in the interim to flush toilets.

De Bruin said they went to the Durban Department of Education (DoE) head office on Tuesday, but it was closed.

He explained that there was confusion within the municipality regarding Section 20 and Section 21 schools. He said Assegai was a Section 20(C) school, which meant the DoE was responsible for all its bills.

• Section 21: These schools receive their per-learner funding directly into their own bank accounts. They have the power to manage their own finances. 
• Section 20: These schools have their budgets managed by the Provincial DoE. 

“Why must we go to the department or the municipality and sign a payment plan when this is not our responsibility. This school is not responsible for the utility bills. The principals, both past and present, were not aware of the bill. The department cannot handle its own funds because it has employed the wrong people in certain positions. They have failed the children,” he said.

De Bruin advised parents in a WhatsApp memo that learners must carry extra drinking water.

Muzi Mahlambi, the KwaZulu-Natal DoE spokesperson, said the department was aware of these disconnections.

“They happen despite our engagements with the municipalities for payment arrangements. We also have two head offices that were disconnected,” he said.

At an Executive Committee (Exco) meeting on Tuesday, the municipality stated that several schools have approached them to settle outstanding amounts or enter into payment plans. A full report on the disconnections is expected to be tabled at the next meeting.

The municipality said water that was supplied to schools through water tankers was also not paid for by the DoE.

According to a municipality report on debt collection, the city is owed R43 billion. Government departments owe the city R2 billion, while the bulk of the debt is owed by provincial government departments at R1.6 billion.

The DoE (S20 and offices) owed eThekwini R537 million, while Section 21 schools owed R336 million.

Dr Jonathan Annipen, an IFP councillor in eThekwini, voiced his concern about the disconnection of schools in the Phoenix and surrounding areas.

“The city is no longer merely disconnecting electricity and water. It has reportedly resorted to forcibly removing meters, cutting electrical wiring, and deploying heavy machinery to ensure that schools are left completely incapacitated. These actions allegedly involved municipal officials forcibly entering school premises, using bolt cutters and mechanical tools to access meter rooms and remove water meters,” Annipen claimed.

Other schools disconnected, and the amounts they owed were:

• R663,000 - Solomon Mahlangu Primary School in Cornubia. 
• R79,000 - Ikusaslentsha Primary School in Inanda.  
• R60,933 - Zeoh Dlomo High School in KwaMashu.  
• R1.1 million - Ferndale Secondary School in Phoenix. 

On January 27, 2026, the electricity supply was disconnected at Phoenix Pioneer Primary School, which impacted on the daily operations of the school.

Annipen highlighted the plight of this school after disconnections.

These included:

• No ventilation in dangerous heat conditions. 
• Inability to print or photocopy learning materials. 
• Risk to the National School Nutrition Programme due to lack of refrigeration. 
• Inability to safely store diabetic medication for learners and staff.  

Annipen demanded the immediate reconnection of all disconnected schools and a negotiated payment framework between the municipality and the KZN DoE.

“These officials are playing political games with the future of children. Public schools are not bargaining chips. Children’s education is not collateral damage,” Annipen stated.

In correspondence with Annipen, eThekwini City Manager Musa Mbhele said the DoE was informed before the disconnection was carried out in line with municipal credit control and debt collection by-law and policy.

He stated that the DoE failed to sign the acknowledgement of debt and enter into a payment agreement with the municipality.

“In the absence of any existing payment plan, the municipality first disconnects the regional offices of the department, and should there be no response to the disconnection, the municipality has no other alternative but to disconnect all services that are not paid for,” Mbhele explained.

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