Johannesburg apologises to Mandela for wrong billing notice

Johannesburg, Aug 6: The city of Johannesburg Monday apologised to ailing former South African president Nelson Mandela and his family for mistakenly issuing a notice for about $660 in arrears to his house in the city.

"The city wants to convey an apology to the Mandela family for any inconvenience caused by this unfortunate incident," reported Xinhua citing the city authorities.

The apology was made following a pre-termination notice from the City of Johannesburg reportedly delivered to Mandela's house in Houghton in Johannesburg.

The Aug 1 notice advised that the amount of 6,468.48 rand (about $660) had been outstanding for over 30 days and warned that if it was not paid, or an arrangement was not made to pay it, a "discontinuation or restriction of services" would follow, as well as possible legal action.

The city of Johannesburg said the notice should have been delivered to a different address.

Earlier in the day, the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (NMCM) denied press reports that Mandela failed to pay the city electricity and water bills.

The report "is incorrect", the centre's spokesperson Sello Hatang said. "I don't understand where the story is because it is the wrong address."

Mandela, 95, was rushed to the hospital from his Johannesburg home June 8. According to the latest official update last week, Mandela remained in a critical but stable condition and continued to show signs of improvement.

The news came as Mandela spent his 59th day in a Pretoria hospital for treatment of a recurring lung problem.

IANS