DA councillor Les Reynolds put up a solitary fight in an attempt to protect local residents from a proposed 9% rates hike during a special council meeting in the Makana municipal chambers on Thursday 29 May.
DA councillor Les Reynolds put up a solitary fight in an attempt to protect local residents from a proposed 9% rates hike during a special council meeting in the Makana municipal chambers on Thursday 29 May.
He proposed that the municipality's collection rate be pushed up to 85% from the proposed 75% so that rate payers would not be put under more pressure than they are already under.
"It is not fair to ask the ratepayers to pay more. We know that we are owed R200 million in rates and we want the rates to go up when people cannot afford to pay that," he told council.
Reynolds warned that if council allows the percentage increase the debt book would grow.
He added that council has to be careful when imposing rates on residents, which had ballooned in the first place because of council's shortcomings.
"The inefficiencies of this council have allowed it to go where it is today. We have condoned for many years that our revenue collection is poor and we are expecting our ratepayers to bail us out.
"We can put it up all we want but people are not going to pay because they do not have money."
He said he was raising the issue because there was still time to review the issue.
"This is not adopted yet, when it's adopted then it's gone. I am coming with this proposal before this tariff increase is adopted, and I am willing to sit with the officials involved," he said.
He also said that food price and petrol have increased and it would be unfair to ask residents for more money.
Newly appointed Chief Financial Officer Busi Khumalo said the final budget is based on the 75% as a result of the revenue enhancement strategy so that they can be able to deliver more services to Makana residents.
Legislation requires all municipalities to collect 95%.
Khumalo said the provincial treasury had assessed the budget and it was concerned that the municipality's records indicate that there is an increase in its collection rate and yet they want to put it on 65%.
The CFO also said because of objections received from property owners they had to use the old valuation roll for property valuations. The new valuations roll still need to be reviewed.
Speaking about the capital budget, Khumalo said "we need to re-prioritise capital projects and accommodate those that are externally funded.
An example of such external funders was the funding channelled through Amatola Water to sort out Makana Municipality's water woes by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), she said.
Commenting on the hotly debated issue of the rates increase, acting municipal manager Themba Mnguni said the rates increase was merely a proposal not resolution.
This was Mnguni second council meeting since his appointment in March.
Council adopted both the 2014/15 proposed Integrated Development Plan and budget, but said that there are gaps that need to be looked at and public comments that need to be considered before both documents are finalised in the next ordinary council meeting on 20 June.
