National Taxpayers Union/Nasionale Belastingbetalersunie

Chair:  Salie Vorster Website:   Pretoria website

News from Pretoria

A high-court case won over pre—paid electricity:

On Thursday 11^th June 2009, Mr Herman Jacobs of Wierda Park went to the Spar in Centurion to buy R200 pre-paid electricity.  The shop assistant told him that his rates were in arrears and that the R200 had been allocated towards rates, that he still owed R296 in arrears, and that he must pay before she can give him pre-paid electricity.  Mr Jacobs has not been paying the double charges on rates and refuse that the Tshwane municipality has been charging.  He made a few phone calls to query this, but after receiving no response the NBU went to the High Court for an urgent interdict.  The advocate was Marie Olivier.  The case was heard on Friday, and it is with gratitude to Adv. Olivier and attorney Herman van Bergen that the interdict was granted.  The judge was not complimentary about the way the municipality was handling the affair and made an order that the municipality must immediately give Mr Jacobs his R200 electricity.

The Pretoria Ratepayers Association has called a dispute with the Tshwane Metro because of a fault in the billing system.  By all accounts the Metro discovered an underbilling dating back to 2004, and decided to add this to the 2009 accounts.  The RA has declared a dispute on these grounds and declared that the arrear amount will not be paid by its members, as in many cases the arrears are irredeemable by the householders (in the case of tenants or property that has been sold).