The hot news of the moment is the statement by Local Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka, that he will take action against ‘white’ ratepayers who withhold their rates and deliver services themselves. This was an unfortunate statement and has created a strong reaction – especially as the towns where the townspeople are withholding their rates and supplying services themselves, are the only towns where service delivery is improving. We can only hope that the minister is persuaded to work with willing ratepayers, instead of trying to make them part of the problem.
PS – The most delicious irony is that the Minister himself is R40 000 in arrears with his rates and service payments! (more…)