Pretoria’s Sheraton Hotel is an iconic landmark in the City as it stands in the shadows of the Union Buildings in South Africa’s capital.
However the hotel was almost deserted on Friday after the City of Tshwane Municipality cut off its electricity. Sheraton Hotel has R23 million in arrears on its power bills.
Other premises which suffered the same fate include government department buildings, the State Theatre aswell as general businesses.
The City of Tshwane wants to recover over R17 billion from debtors. Government departments and embassies owe R1.3 billion. Businesses owe R4 billion whereas residents are owing R8 billion.
General Manager at Sheraton Hotel, Pascal Fouquet, revealed that some guests left after the electricity was cut off. He said the hotel which is being powered by a generator was losing a lot of money.
Fouquet said if the hotel was to close its doors, 300 staff would be out of jobs. Even taxi drivers who operate outside the hotel are suffering because of fewer guests arriving.
