Sodra dit egter goegekeur is, het ons geen verdere insette nie en kan ons dit slegs verwerp nie op emosionele gronde nie maar op regsgronde.

Die verskeie wetgewings is nou slegs in Engels uitgevaardig en sal daar verskeie kere na die Engelse terminologie met die nodige vertaling verwys word,

Die woord “must” word in meeste van die artikels gebruik en beteken niks anders nie as “moet”.

Waar die woord “must” gebruik word, beteken dit dat die munisipaliteit die bepalings daarvan moet nakom alvorens die begroting regsgeldig uitgevaardig is.

Gerieflikheidshalwe sal die volgender afkortings gebruik word wanneer daar na wetgewing verwys word, naamlik MSA en MFMA onderskeidelik verwysend na die Municipal Systems Act en die Municipal Finance Management Act.

Dit is ongelukkig so dat omstandighede van munisipaliteit na munisipaliteit sal wissel en kan daar nie ‘n vaste riglyn daargestel word nie – dit moet op grondvlak gedoen word,

Indien u agterkom dat van die wetlike bepalings nie nagekom is nie, is dit u volle reg om die begroting in sy geheel te verwerp.

Ons wil egter voorstel dat, indien u dit wel doen, u ‘n skrywe aan die LUR vir plaaslike regering asook die Minister van Finansies rig en duidelik stel hoekom u die begroting verwerp. Dit stel ‘n papierspoor daar.

Die Municipal Systems Act. (MSA)
Hoofstuk 4 van die MSA, welke vervat is in artikels 16 – 22, vervat riglyne wat deur die munisipaliteite nagekom moet word om te voldoen aan die vereistes van gemeenskaps-deelname.
Ek sal kortliks die kern van elke artikel bespreek

1. Artikel 16
1.1 Die munisipaliteit moet deelname deur die gemeenskap aanmoedig in
1.1.1 die voorbereiding, implementering en hersiening van die integrale
ontwikkelingsplan terme van hoofstuk 5 (van die MSA)
1.1.2 die vestiging, implementering en hersiening van die bestuursisteem in terme van
hoofstuk 6 (van die MSA)
1.1.3 die monitering en hersiening van die uitvoering daarvan insluitend die uitkoms en impak daarvan.
1.1.4 die voorbereiding van die begroting en
1.1.5 strategiese besluite in verband met die voorsiening van munisipale dienste in terme van hoofstuk 8 (van die MSA)

Kortliks beteken dit dat u as ‘n gemeenskapsgebaseerde organisasie moet kan insette lewer in voorgenoemde. Dit beteken meer as ‘n openbare vergadering waar voorgenoemde as ‘n uitgemaakte saak voorgestel word. In terme van artikel 17(2)(c) en (d) moet daar konsultasie sessies met erkende plaaslike gemeenskapsorganisasies plaasvind.

Hier is duidelik onderskeid getref tussen konsultasie en openbare vergaderinge. (sien artikel 17(2)(c) en (d) in hierdie verband).

Indien daar nie met u gekonsulteer is nie (wat skriftelik of persoonlik gedoen kan word), kan die begroting op hierdie gronde verwerp word.

2. Artikel 18 (MSA) stel dit duidelik dat die munisipaliteit inligting moet deurgee
oor die beskikbare meganismes, prosesse en prosedures om deelname aan te
moedig en te fasiliteer.

3. Artikel 19 (MSA) stel dit duidelik dat die munisipale bestuurder kennis moet gee
van alle openbare vergaderings.

4. Artikel 20 (MSA) stel dit duidelik dat die volgende vergaderings van die
munisipale raad oop vir die publiek moet wees, nl. vir bespreking van ‘n beoogde geintegreerde ontwikkelingsplan of enige wysiging daartoe; ‘n beoogde beheerstelsel of enige wysiging daartoe en enige besluit om ‘n dienslewerings-oorgeenkoms te sluit met ‘n onafhanklike diensleweraar.

5. Artikel 21 (MSA) behels kommunikasie met die gemeenskap en stel dit hoe dit
moet geskied.

6. Artikel 21A (MSA) stel dit duidelik dat alle dokumente welke openbaar gemaak
moet word (waaronder die begroting en geintegreerde ontwikkelingsplan inge-
sluit word) in die munisipale hoof- en satelietkantore beskikbaar moet wees asook
in die biblioteke.

Verder word daar voorsiening gemaak dat dit ook op die webwerf beskikbaar
moet wees

Indien die dokument nie op die webwerf beskikbaar is nie, kan die begroting heel moontlik op hierdie grond verwerp word. Veral in ag geneem dat die landelike gebiede ook nou ingesluit is en ‘n boer dalk nie elders die dokument kan besigtig
nie.

7. Artikel 21B bepaal dat elke munisipaliteit oor ‘n webwerf moet beskik en dat die
munisipale bestuurder dit moet bywerk.

8. Artikel 24 stel dit duidelik dat elke munisipaliteit ‘n enkele, insluitende en strategiese plan vir die ontwikkeling van die munisipaliteit moet daarstel
Binne veertien (14) dae nadat die plan aanvaar is, moet die munisipaliteit kennis gee aan die gemeenskap.

9. Artikel 26 noem die kernkomponente waaraan die geintegreerde ontwikkelings plan (GOP) moet voldoen.

10. Artikel 28 stel dit duidelik dat die munisipaliteit die plaaslike gemeenskap moet konsulteer alvorens dit die GOP goedkeur

11. Artikel 29 stel dit duidelik dat die gemeenskap gekonsulteer moet word en moet deelneem in die opstel van die GOP

12. Artikel 41 stel dit duidelik dat die munisipaliteit op ‘n gereëlde basis aan die gemeenskap moet rapporteer.

13. Artikel 42 stel dit duidelik dat die gemeenskap betrokke moet wees by die daarstel van gepaste sleutelaanwysers en uitkomsteikens vir die munisipaliteit.

14. Artikel 44 stel dit duidelik dat die inligting aan die algemene publiek openbaar gemaak moet word.

15. Artikel 74 stel dit duidelik welke voorskrifte nagekom moet word wanneer ‘n tariefbeleid daargestel word.

Subartikel (2)(c) stel dit duidelik dat arm huishoudings geregtig is op tariewe welke slegs bedryfs- en onderhoudskostes delg en spesiale tariewe of leeflyntariewe vir lae verbruik of vir basiese dienste en dan die direkte of indirekte metodes van subsidering van tariewe vir arm huishoudings.

Daar moet op gelet word dat hier geen voorsiening vir kruissubsidieëring is uit die dienste self nie. Dit word versterk deur die bepalings van subartikel 2(b), 2(d) en 2(e) en veral laasgenoemde.
Verder moet opgelet word na die bepalings van 2(i) wat dit duidelik stel dat die subsidering van arm huishoudings en ander kategorieë van verbruikers duidelik uitgespel moet word.

16. Artikle 75 is belangrik aangesien dit duidelik stel dat munisipaliteite die bywette vir die implementering en toepassing van sy tariefbeleid moet afkondig. Indien die bywette nie afgekondig is nie, is dit heel moontlik dat die begroting onwettig sal wees.

17. Artikel 75A is weereens belangrik want dit stel sekere vereistes waaraan voldoen moet word alvorens ‘n begroting regtens afekondig word.
Indien daar nie voorsiening gemaak is in die begroting vir ‘n tarief vir dienste nie, kan die munisipaliteit dit nie regtens afdwing nie.
Die tariewe moet deur die meerderheid van die raad aanvaar word andersins is dit ook nie regsgeldig nie.
Nadat die munisipale besluit oor die tariewe geneem is, moet die begroting vir ten minste 30 dae prominent vertoon word en kennis van die tariewe moet in ‘n koerant gepubliseer woord.

18, Artikel 95 is weereens belangrik vir die doeleindes van ‘n belastingbetalers vereniging, want dit stel sekere vereistes aan die munisipaliteit, o.a.
18.1 verbruikers moet terugvoering kan gee oor die kwaltiteit van dienste.
18.2 redelike stappe neem om te verseker dat verbruikers op hoogte gehou word van die kostes verbonde aan die lewering van dienste, die noodsaaklikheid daarvan om vir dienste te betaal en die manier waarop fooie gehef vir dienste, aangewend word.
18.3 redelike stappe neem om te verseker dat waar dienstekoste aan verbruik gekoppel word, die verbruik deur akkurate meters gemeet word.
18.4 dat verbruikers gereëlde en akkurate rekeninge ontvang wat die basis aandui waarop die bedrag verskuldig, bereken word.
18.5 meganismes daarstel waardeur navraag oor rekeninge gedoen kan word en appelprosedures daarstel waardeur verbruikers onmiddellike regstelling op foutiewe rekeninge sal kry.

19. Artikel 96 bepaal dat ‘n munisipaliteit alle gelde verskuldig, moet verhaal en ‘n kredietbeheer- en skuldinvorderingsbeleid moet daarstel.
Hierdie artikel is een gebied waarin munisipaliteite op gereëlde grondslag faal.
Kredietbeheer beteken nie slegs gelde invorder nie maar ook om dienste te staak waar betaling nie geskied nie. ‘n Verweer wat gereeld deur munispaliteite geopper word, wanneer afskrywings van verskuldigde gelde gemagtig word, is dat dit nie invorderbaar is nie. Indien afsnydings toegepas word, sal uitstaande skulde nie oploop nie.
Dit is die munisipale bestuurder se regsplig om te verseker dat kredietbeheer toegepas word (sien art. 100). Versuim kan lei tot strafregtelike vervolging soos sal blyk wanneer die MFMA bespreek word.

20. Artikel 97 bespreek die inhoud van ‘n kredietbeheerbeleid waaronder een van die belangrikste punte die inperking of opskorting van dienste is.

21. Artikel 98 stel dit duidelik dat ‘n bywet afgekondig moet word en indien dit nie gedoen is nie, kan die begroting heel moontlik op hierdie grond verwerp word.

22. Artikel 99 maak voorsiening daarvoer dat die kredietbeheer beleid deur die politieke vleuel gemonitor moet word.

23. Hoofstuk 10, Artikels 105 – 107 maak weer voorsiening daarvoor dat die provinsiale en nasionale regering toesig moet hou dat munisipaliteite reg funksioneer.
Om hierdie rede is dit belangrik om ‘n papierspoor te vestig deur enige aksie geneem aan die LUR vir plaaslike regering en die minister van finansies skriftelik te rapporteer.
Daar rus ‘n regsplig op provinsiale en nasionale regering om toe te tree, Hierdie word op gereëlde basis nie nagekom nie. Dit is noodsaaklik dat indien dit op hofsake uitloop, daar bewyse voorgelê kan word dat provinsiale en nasionale regering kennis gedra het dat die munisipaliteit nie sy regsplig nagekom het nie.

24. Artikel 119 maak dit ‘n kriminele oortreding vir ‘n raaadslid of raad indien hy/hulle sou inmeng sodat die munisipale bestuurder nie sy regsplig in terme van die MSA kan nakom nie. Ingelyks is dit ook ‘n kriminele oortreding as die munisipale bestuurder toegee aan druk deur ‘n raadslid of die raad. Beide oortredings is strafbaar met twee jaar tronkstraf.
.
Die Municipal Finance Management Act, wet 56 van 2003 (MFMA)

25. Artikel 5 stel dit duidelik dat beide die nasionale en provinsiale tesourier ‘n wakende oog oor die finansies van ‘n munisipaliteit kan hou en daar moet op die inhoud van hierdie artikel gelet word.
Weereens, veral as dit oor finansies gaan, moet enige onreëlmatighede in die finasies van die munisipaliteit met al drie instansies naamlik plaaslik, provinsiaal en nasionaal opgeneem word.

26. Hoofstuk 4 van die MFMA hanteer die opstel en goedkeuring van ‘n munisipale begroting.

27. Artikel 15 stel dit duidelik dat, tensy andersins bepaal in die MFMA, ‘n munisipaliteit slegs uitgawes kan aangaan in terme van ‘n goedgekeurde begroting en binne die perke van die posnommer (vote number).

28. Artikel 16 skryf voor dat ‘n munisipaliteit voor die aanvang van die nuwe finansiële jaar (Julie – Junie), die begroting moet goedkeur.
Die burgemeester moet die begroting ten minste 90 dae voor die aanvangs van die finasiële jaar ter tafel lê.

29. Artikel 17 stel duidelike riglyne en formaat daar waaraan ‘n begroting moet voldoen.
29.1 dit moet realistiese verwagte inkomste daarstel in elke inkomste bron.
29.2 uitgawes toewys onder die onderskeie posnommers
29.3 uiteensit wat die geprojekteerde inkomste en uitgawes is vir die twee jaar wat onmiddellik op die begrotingsjaar volg.
29.4 uiteensit wat
29.4.1 die geprojekteerde inkomstes en uitgawes per pos vir die huidige finansiële jaar is asook
29.4.2 die werklike inkomste en uitgawes vir die vorige jaar
29.5 die begroting moet ingedeel word in bedryfs- en kapitaal gedeeltes
29.6 die volgende dokumente moet die begroting vergesel, nl
29.6.1 konsep besluite wat moet insluit goedkeuring van die begroting, die daarstel van enige munispale belastings asook enige munispale dienste wat benodig word vir die begrotingsjaar asook enige ander aangeleenthede wat mag voorgeskryf word.
29.6.2 meetbare prestasiedoelwitte vir inkomste uit elke pos in die begroting inagnemende die GOP.
29.7 die projeksie van kontantvloei per inkomstebron, afgebreek in maandelikse inkomste
29.8 enige wysigings in die GOP.
28.9 enige wysiging aan die munispaliteit se begrotingsbeleid
28.10 besonderhede van die munispaliteit se beleggings
29.11 enige allokasies of skenkings deur die munisipaliteit aan ander munisipaliteite, enige staatsinstellings en enige organisasies vermeld in artikle 67(1)
29.12 Die uitgawes verbonde aan die salarisse, toelaes en voordele van alle politieke ampsdraers, raadslede, die munisipale bestuurder, hoof finansiële beampte, elke senior bestuurder en enige amptsdraers wie vergoeding ontvang gelyk of groter aan ‘n senior bestuurder.

30. Artikel 18 stel dit duidelik dat uitgawes slegs uit realistiese verwagte inkomste, opgehoopte inkomste van vorige jare, wat nie vir ander doeleindes geoormerk is nie, en fondse geleen vir kapitaaluitgawes, gefinansier mag word.
(Indien die munisipaliteit dus fondse leen om dienste te lewer wat nie kapitaalbeleggings is nie, sal dit nie regsgeldig wees nie.)
Verwagte inkomste moet realisties wees inaggenome die insamelingsvlakke tot datum en werklike inkomste in vorige jare.

31. Artikel 19 gaan oor kapitaalprojekte en mag alleen spandeer word indien
31.1 die gelde toegeken is in die kapitaalbegroting
31.2 die kostes goedgekeur is deur die raad
31.3 die oorsprong van die befondsing oorweeg is en dit nie elders toegewys is nie
31.4 Indien die kapitaaluitgawe oor meer as een finansiële jaar strek, moet die finansiële implikasies inaggeneem wees.
31.5 Alvorens ‘n munisipaliteit ‘n kapitaalprojek goedkeur, moet inaggeneem word die verwagte kostes oor die finansiële jare tot die projek in bedryf gestel word sowel as toekomstige bedryfskostes, inkomste uit die projek insluitende munisipale belastings- en tarief implikasies.

32. Artikel 20. Die minister van finansies tesame met toepaslike kabinetministers verantwoordelik vir plaaslike regering, kan sekere voorskrifte vir die begroting voorskryf.
Hiervoor kan die webwerf van die Department of Finance onder die hoof “MFMA” besoek word vir riglyne wat daargestel is sodat die nasionale ekonomiese beleid wat veral gemik is op inflasie, geadministreerde pryse en gelykheid nie wesenlik en onredelik benadeel word nie.

33. Artikel 21 is van belang vir alle gemeenskapsgebaseerde organisasies. Dit stel die riglyne daar vir die opstel van die begroting.
33.1 Ten minste tien maande voor die aanvang van die nuwe begrotingsjaar moet ‘n tydskedule in die raad ter tafel gelê word, wat die volgende datums aandui : voorbereiding, ter tafel lê en goedkeuring van die begroting; die jaarlikse hersiening van die GOP en die begrotingsverwandte beleid; die ter tafel lê en goedkeuring van enige wysigings aan die GOP en die begrotingsproses.
Hier moet beklemtoon word dat hierdie proses deursigtig moet wees en dat daar met erkende gemeenskapsorganisasies gekonsulteer moet word.

34. Artikel 22 stel dit duidelik dat sodra die begroting voor die raad dien, dit tesame met die nodige stawende dokumente aan die gemeenskap beskikbaar gestel moet word om geleentheid te gee om voorstelle aangaande die begroting te maak.

35. Artikel 23 stel dit duidelik dat die raad (gedurende ‘n volle vergadering van die raad) die insette van die plaaslike gemeenskap moet bespreek. Na die bespreking daarvan moet die burgemeester ‘n kans gegun word om op die voorstelle te reageer en indien nodig die begroting dienooreenkomstig te wysig en die wysiging ter tafel te lê.
Hierdie bepaling word dikwels nie deur die munisipaliteit nagekom nie. Om vas te stel of voorstelle van die gemeenskap deur die raad bespreek is, kan die notules van die raadsvergaderings, wat ‘n openbare dokumente is, geraadpleeg word.
Indien geen bespreking plaasgevind het nie, is dit ‘n regsgeldige grond om die begroting te verwerp.
Weereens is die belangrik om ‘n papierspoor daar te stel en indien moontlik bewys van aflewering van voorstelle te bekom.

36. Artikel 24 stel dit duidelik dat die begroting ten minste dertig dae voor die aanvang van die nuwe boekjaar voor die raad moet dien. Dit moet ook voor die aanvang van die nuwe boekjaar goedgekeur word deur ‘n meerderheid van die raad.
Enige besluite aangaande die toepassing van enige belasting, tariewe, meetbare bestuursuitkoms van elke inkomste bron, GOP sowel as enige wysings aan die begrotingsbeleid moet ook deur ‘n raadsbesluit bekragtig word.

37. Artikel 25. Indien ‘n munisipale raad nie die jaarlikse begroting goedkeur nie, moet ‘n verdere vergadering binne sewe dae belê word om die begroting goed te keur. Hierdie proses moet herhaal word totdat die begroting goedgekeur is.
Indien die begroting nie voor die begin van die nuwe finansiële jaar goedgekeur is nie, moet die burgemeester dit aan Dept. van Finansies van die provinsie rapporteer.

38. Artikel 26 stel dit duidelik dat indien ‘n munisipaliteit versuim om ‘n begroting goed te keur voor die aanvang van die nuwe boekjaar, die provinsie moet toetree in terme van artikel 139(4) van die grondwet van Suid Afrika, deur enige nodige stappe te neem om te verseker dat die begroting of inkomste genererende maatstawwe goedgekeur word. Dit mag insluit die ontbinding van die raad en die aanstelling van ‘n administrateur totdat ‘n nuwe raad verkies is en ‘n tydelike begroting goedgekeur is.
Dit blyk duidelik dat die provinsie nie aan enige wetgewing moet voldoen nie waneer dit ‘n tydelike begroting goedkeur nie.
Indien die raad ontbind is, moet die begrotingsproses van voor af begin en moet aan al die normale vereistes voeldoen word behalwe dat die tydperke moontlik verkort kan word.

39. Artikel 27 maak voorsiening daarvoor dat die burgemeesster die provinsiale dept van finansies skriftelik in kennis moet stel waar onder andere nie aan die goedkeuringsvereistes van die begroting voldoen word nie.
In geval van die nie nakoming van die goedkeuring van die begroting voor die aanvang van die nuwe boekjaar, kan die LUR vir finansies op goeie gronde die versuim goedkeur. Dit moet egter binne ‘n voorgeskrewe raamwerk geskied en aan die Nasionale Tesourie gerapporteer word.

Dit dien egter gemeld te word dat nie nakoming van enige artikel in hierdie hoofstuk, dws artikels 15 – 34 of enige ander wet, nie die regsgeldigheid van die begroting aantas nie.
Hierdie bepaling behoort egter regsongeldig verklaar te word deur ‘n hof, aangesien dit beteken dat ‘n munisipaliteit geen ag aan die wetgewing hoef te slaan nie en nogtrans ‘n regsgeldige begroting kan opstel.

40. Daar moet ook ag geslaan word op die bepalings van die “Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act”

Die hef van grondbelasting val buite hierdie wetgewing

Die wet maak voorsiening vir die heffing van ‘n “municipal surcharge” (Heffing) wat gehef word op die basiese munisipale tariewe. Die tariewe sluit fooie in wat werklike kostes dek vir grootmaat aankope van bv. water en elektrisiteit; oorhoofse-, bedryfs- en onderhoudskoste, kapitaalkostes en ‘n redelike opbrengs indien gemagtig deur die reguleerder of die minister
Ander belasting soos gemagtig mag ook gehef word.
Die munisipaliteit moet aan sekere bepalings, soos in die wet uiteengesit, voldoen alvorens ‘n belasting gehef mag word.
Wat vir die belastingbetalers verenigings egter van belang is, is dat enige heffing of belasting (behalwe grondbelasting) gemagtig moet word deur die minister van finansies.
Enige heffing of belasting wat in werking was voor die wet in werking getree het, verval twee jaar na inwerkingtreding, tensy dit weer gemagtig word deur die minister.
Enige heffing of belasting na die inwerkintreding van die wet, moet deur die minister gemagtig word alvorens dit in werking gestel kan word.
Indien hierdie bepalings nie nagekom is nie, is die heffing of belasting nie regsgeldig nie.

41. Wat betref grondbelasting het alle vergunnings, ten opsigte van die waardering
van grond, verval. Met ander woorde indien daar nie ‘n waardasie onder die “Municipal Property Rate Act” gedoen is nie, is die begroting nie regsgeldig nie.
Sien in hierdie verband die webwerf van die Dept of Finance onder MFMA.
Indien die begroting vir die nuwe boekjaar om een of ander rede nie goedgekeur word nie, verval die vorige tarief. Dit beteken egter nie dat u vrygestel word van grondbelasting nie. Grondbelasting is in een paaiement betaalbaar en die maandelikse afbetaling daarvan, is slegs ‘n vergunning. As die begroting dus in Desember sou goedgekeur word, kan die grondbelasting vir die hele boekjaar in ses paaiemente verhaal word.

In Sannieshof het rou riool weer in elke erf oorgeloop en straatlangs afgeloop weens die sloerstaking.  Inwoners is moedeloos met die wanfunksionerende krisis bestuur van Tswaing se tegniese afdeling wat oor die afgelope 5 jaar met rampbestuur in stand gehou word.

‘n Klag is op 25 Mei by die SAPS op Sannieshof ingedien oor die uitbrand van ‘n skakelaar by die Agisanang rioolwerke sonder enige kontrole of hulp van Tswaing Munisipaliteit.   Rou riool het vir meer as ‘n week uit die rioolstasie by Agisanang in die Hartsrivier  opvangsgebied afgestroom.  SIBU het die skakelaar herstel  om die riool oorloop na die Hartsrivier te keer en die Departement van Waterwese in kennis gestel.  Die Tswaing Munisipaliteit is daardie etlike kere geskakel, boodskappe is gelaat en niemand het opgedaag nie.  Die operateurs wat veronderstel is om aan diens te wees, kon ook nerens gevind word nie.   Waterwese het binne 24 uur ‘n inspeksie kom doen.  Die saak word vir nalatige bestuur ondersoek.

Die Tswaing Munisipaliteit, wat onder administrasie is, het ook sedertdien ‘n brief van Escom se Sentrale Streek ontvang.  Tswaing is daarmee in kennis gestel dat opdrag gegee is vir die opskorting van elektrisiteits toevoer na Sannieshof, Delareyville en Ottosdal nadat Tswaing die voorsienings ooreenkoms verbreek het deur nie die betalings ooreenkoms met Escom te eer nie ingevolge hul kontrak voorwaardes.  Dit stel Escom instaat om krag toevoer na die verbruikers op te skort.   Die inwoners van hierdie dorpe het gedurende hierdie periode hul elektrisiteits rekeninge betaal.  Die agterstallige bedrae is OTTOSDAL R2 287 660,67  SANNIESHOF R1 700 000,00 en DELAREYVILLE  R5 032 191,00.

Tswaing is 14 dae kennis gegee om die rekeninge te betaal.  Tot op datum is geen gelde vir die agterstallige rekeninge deur Escom ontvang nie.

Mev Visser van SIBU poog om kontak te maak met die Streeksbestuurder van Escom om te versoek om nie die elektrisiteits voorsiening na Sannieshof te onderbreek nie.  Die inwoners het hulle betalingsverpligtinge getrou nagekom, deur die maandelikse betaling van hulle elektrisiteits rekeninge aan Tswaing te betaal, maar Tswaing Munisipaliteit het nie hulle kontraktuele verpligtinge teenoor Escom nagekom nie.  Die kontrakbreuk waarin Tswaing Munisipaliteit skuldig is, is onder die aandag van NERSA gebring.  Die ANC regering is verantwoordelik vir die totale wanbestuur van die Noordwes Munisipaliteite wat tans almal op die afsnydingslys van Escom is. (Bewyse beskikbaar)  Die inwoners wat getrou hulle rekenings vereffen het, of wat van voorafbetaalde krag gebruik maak, het nie beheer oor die wanbesteding van fondse van munisipaliteite  en die derhalwe agterstallige elektrisiteits rekeninge nie.

Nadat transport besighede Mev Visser genader het en in kennis gestel het dat hule vragmotors met vrag en al gekonfiskeer word as ‘n gesteelde voertuig of swaar beboet word omdat ‘n padwaardigheidsertifikaat nie uitgereik is nie, het Mev Visser vir Mnr Mose, die Administrateur hiervan in kennis gestel.  Mev Visser het die maatskappy gekontak om die remtoetsmasjien te kom herstel.  Dit is binne 2 dae herstel en indien Tswaing nie die rekening kan betaal nie, het Mev Visser onderneem om die rekening te betaal uit die fondse van Delareyville, Sannieshof en Ottosdal.  Mnr Mose het gereel dat die Provinsiale inspeksie gedoen word sodat die stasie weer normale werksaamhede kan vervat.

Tswaing Munisipaliteit het ook vir die 5de agtereenvolgende jaar nie die wettige prosedures in die begroting gevolg t.o.v publieke deelname of insae nie.  Die inwoners van Sannieshof het weer die begroting afgekeur hoewel dit deur die Raad aangeneem is.  Een van die hoofredes daarin is dat die totale bedrag vir salarisse en lone R8 miljoen meer is as die verwagte inkomste ontvang van belastings.

Hoewel COGTA die omkeerstrategie bekend gemaak het om munisipaliteite reg te ruk, is dit nog nie in een munisipaliteit in Noordwes geïmplimenteer nie.  Inteendeel die afwesigheid in ondersteuning van COGTA na die Noordwes se insolvente munisipaliteite word daagliks meer sigbaar.

Paul Hoffman, SC, expresses his opinion with regard to the legal opinion expressed by SP Rosenberg.  W Landman also contributes an essay regarding the ethics of withholding rates.

Letter from Paul Hoffman:

I have seen the opinion and respect the credentials of its author. I do not share his conclusion on the illegality of rates being withheld. The legal problem is best illustrated by way of what lawyers call a “reductio ad absurdam” which entails arguing by way of a notionally absurd example.

Rosenberg SC seems to opine, on my reading of his opinion, that once rates are fairly fixed they are payable come hell or high water. He concedes however that if, for example, you are being charged in Sannieshof for refuse removal and no refuse is being removed, you could under s 102(2) withhold payment of refuse removal charges until the dispute over delivery of services is determined or resolved. He does not however explore the “collapse” scenario being experienced on the ground in small municipalities such as yours around the country.

So, by way of reductio ad absurdam, what happens if the rates are fairly determined and accounts are sent out annually or monthly by a municipality that to all intents and purposes has ceased to function because all its income is spent on fast cars, big receptions, parties and overseas study tours for corrupt councillors? Must the hapless ratepayers simply swallow this and keep paying so that the party never ends? I think not, the law is not such an ass. You must however be prepared to show in any litigation that the absurd is the reality if you want to legally justify the withholding of rates. There is no great risk involved if the withheld rates are, as is usually the case, paid into trust and properly accounted for by organisations involved in withholding them. The worst the court can do is order that the withheld amounts (less such sums as have been spent legitimately as negotiorum gestor) be paid over to the municipality, it is unlikely to order costs against withholders as the litigation would be of a public interest nature. This means that unless the withholding is proved to be vexatious or mala fide (in bad faith), no adverse costs award would be made against withholders. I suspect the government has been told this by its legal advisors, which is why there is no major litigation over withheld amounts despite years of withholding rates and taxes from municipalities. And, who knows, the court may be persuaded that paying rates and getting nothing tangible in return is not on in law, and order that withholding can continue until the dispute over liability to pay is sorted out between the municipality and the disgruntled ratepayers. The best way for withholders to demonstrate their bona fides (good faith) in withholding, is to engage with the authorities over the disputes with a view to rectifying the situation on the ground to the reasonable satisfaction of those who withhold payment. As I understand Jaap’s NTU circulars, this is being done right up to Ministerial level.

Your decision to withhold is not without risk as Rosenberg explains in detail, but it is also not without legal justification, especially as the wording of the section has, to my and Rosenberg’s knowledge, not been judicially considered in the context of withholding rates. The fact that the withholding was initially justified by raising the inapplicable contractual exception, the “exceptio non adimpleti contractus” will count against the NTU, but is not necessarily fatal to its argument that the collapse of municipal infrastructure and services in general gives rise to a specific dispute which makes it legally impossible for the municipality to sue for amounts so withheld while the dispute is bona fide in existence. This is what participatory democracy is all about, how refreshingly different to the old order to be able to legally hold municipalities that misbehave to account in a way that gets them to sit up and pay attention, if they have any ambitions to be accountable. The real problem is that corruption, cadre deployment and lack of “capacity” have conspired to kill off accountability at municipal level in all too many ANC led and even some other municipalities. Visit www.ifaisa.org and read its accountability page for more on this aspect. See also the submissions to the service delivery parliamentary committee on the same site.

Groetnis,

Paul Hoffman SC

Opinion of W Landman:

The town of Sannieshof has become synonymous with rate payers’ fight against poor or non-existent municipal service delivery.

Some 280 towns are in various stages of declaring disputes with municipalities.

Of these towns, 30 are withholding municipal property rates and certain service fees in order to get municipalities so far as to respect residents’ constitutional rights.

Withheld payments are paid into trust accounts for safe keeping. Sannieshof ratepayers use a portion of the funds in their trust account to finance essential services and purchases themselves.

Is this ethical?

One can argue that we all have an unconditional or absolute ethical duty within a democracy to pay our taxes and service fees. This duty is not abrogated by poor or non-existent service delivery.

A mere appeal to ethical absolutes, however, is tantamount to intellectual sloth. Complex ethical issues require thorough analysis. Even the ethical prohibition on the taking of a human life is not absolute, because it may be justified under certain circumstances.

It does not at all follow that ethical right and wrong may be taken lightly. For that matter, a heavy burden of proof to justify such action rests on anyone transgressing an ethical principle.

Thus, the Sannieshoffers have a duty to show that their action meets at least three requirements and, therefore, can be justified ethically.

Firstly, there must be convincing grounds for withholding payment, such as a state of emergency.

They can indeed argue that they had to intervene urgently to resolve a state of emergency, or had to act in self-defence to protect themselves against a threat to their health.

Sannieshof’s sewage system, for example, has disintegrated to such an extent that sewage is bubbling from septic tanks everywhere, and even flowing from toilets. Borehole water, drinking water, marshlands and rivers are being contaminated in the process.

Secondly, the municipality’s dereliction of duty must have caused the state of emergency – rather than, for example, a natural disaster, or other circumstances beyond the municipality’s control.

As has been the case repeatedly in the past, Sannieshof has again been without sewage services for the past seven weeks. Extractors and suction dredgers are in a state of neglect and decay. When this is brought to the municipality’s attention, merely empty promises are made.

Thirdly, withholding of payment must be the last resort.

Over the years, all channels have been tested – meetings; letters, which remain unanswered; and warnings that dispute declaration or withholding of payment will be used as a last resort.

Would the residents of Bloemfontein, Pretoria or Cape Town tolerate sewage in their streets or contaminated drinking water? Like the Sannieshoffers, they would probably, and with ethical justification, take the same action.
Whether the Sannieshoffers also have the law on their side is another question.

But if the Tswaing municipality were to summons them, they would probably be able to appeal to legal grounds for justification, similar to the ethical grounds – such as a state of emergency or self-defence.

They would be able to argue that their basic human rights are being disregarded, with serious consequences for all residents and the environment.

A counterargument of the municipality is that withholding of payment is tantamount to civil disobedience against a democratically elected government.

Civil disobedience is usually exercised against an illegal government or unjust laws. Withholding of payment as a result of dereliction of duty could certainly also be tantamount to a form of civil disobedience.

But merely calling non-payment civil disobedience does not make non-payment wrong. The residents’ reasons deserve consideration.

The municipality, furthermore, argues that it cannot remove sewage without precisely the monies that the residents are withholding. This is untrue. Not only does the residents’ withholding represent a miniscule 0.25 per cent of a budget of R159 million, but the municipality actually did not manage the sewage properly before payment was withheld.

With its unsavoury arguments about insufficient money, the municipality is moving onto moral quicksand.

The auditor-general’s qualified audit report on the Tswaing municipality is damning. Just one of many alarming examples from the report is that unauthorised expenditure of R37 million was made in the 2008 tax year.

Furthermore, there are several allegations – by a whistle blower within the municipality – of large-scale corruption, which has not really made news yet.

Thus, the problem is not a financial one, but one of dereliction of duty, incompetence, poor work ethic, irregularities, lack of political will, disregard of human rights and deployment of political cadres.

We are living in times in which lawlessness has become such a part of our culture that combating it is becoming almost impossible. This includes not only criminal violence, corruption, illegal and violent strikes, but also payment boycotts and violence against poor municipal service delivery.

The question thus is: Is the action of the Sannieshoffers not dangerous precisely for that reason and thus unethical?

Does it not feed on – and feed – general lawlessness?

This is most unlikely, because there is a radical difference, which anyone can appreciate.

Criminality is driven by own interest, parasitic greed or lack of respect for the person or property of others. It is destructive.

Disciplined withholding of payment on the other hand is motivated by an intention to preserve infrastructure. It is constructive. It is evidence of a sense of civic duty.

If ordinary citizens become indifferent in this regard, we’ll be in even greater trouble.

The Minister for Local Government has released a bill which contains proposed amendments to the Municipal System Act. The purpose of the amendments are to make municipal officials more accountable. I have a copy of the proposed amendments in PDF format and will forward a copy on request.

The World Cup is having one enormous effect – it is showing the world that South Africa can be world-class. For ratepayers, however, being world-class is an expensive exercise and due to the shrinking tax base, rates are going to increase exponentially every year while municipal officials dream about Olympics and other world events. It is therefore very important that the ratepayers make it clear to municipalities that it is their money that pays for all these wonderful things, and that they demand accountability. Don’t wait until it is too late. Join, or start, a Ratepayers Association now!

.Pieter van der Westhuizen of Villiers has announced a court victory over their municipality, contact him for a copy of the judgment at pdv.west@vodamail.co.za

Phalaborwa ratepayers had a meeting with their municipal manager about their supplying services where they had collapsed, and the reply from the MM was that it was illegal to supply services privately, even if the municipality was failing to do so. However, the MM is incorrect – Phalaborwa is a member of the NTU, and the NTU has registered as an external service provider and is therefore legally entitled to deliver services. The advice to the people of Phalaborwa is that, if they start – for instance – to fix the potholes in their streets, to do so with as much publicity as possible. The presence of the public and the media is usually a very good deterrent for municipal officials who feel like taking the law into their own hands.

Last month the municipality of Parys was notified that the entire area was going to have its electricity cut off because the municipality had not paid the bill. It is alleged that the municipality owes about R30 million to Eskom. The ratepayers were able to intervene and prevent the cut-off, but once again it raises the question: what has the municipality done with the payments from residents for electricity? The ratepayers of Parys are busy investigating this, and using this as a good reason for rates with-holding, as at least then they are able to pay the accounts that the municipality is unable to pay.

The revised copy of the Municipal Tariffs approved and applicable for implementation from July 1 2009 are available. This is what Nersa is allowing municipalities to charge. A copy will be furnished on request.

Bethal has decided to inform the Minister for Local Government that they have embarked on a withholding action. In a letter sent in May, the Ratepayers set out their reasons for the action, making note of the fact that meetings with local officials and the provincial MEC have not come to anything and that they are withholding rates as a last resort. A copy of this letter can be obtained from Wilco Uys of Bethal. Contact details on the website under Contacts

Harry Lane of Tweespruit has been very active: in May Tweespruit residents had a meeting with Nersa officials and discovered that their municipality had been charging illegal electrical tariffs for the last three years. This affects Tweespruit, Thaba Patchoa, Hobhouse and Excelsior. The ratepayers have decided to call a dispute over this matter. The dispute will refer to the fact that the municipality has not responded to registered letters, has not arrived at meetings, has also not dealt with sewerage and water problems. Harry Lane has warned ratepayers to look out for differential tariffs to different areas and asks why some districts pay more for electricity than others.

Danie Eichstadt wrote a letter to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, with comments on the draft amendments to the Municipal Property Rates Act. Suggestions include: rebates based on household income and not just the income of the property owner; a guarantee that the valuation roll and accounting system must be properly co-ordinated. Get a copy of the letter from danieeic@absamail.co.za and perhaps you can discuss the proposed amendments with him.

I got a request for the court judgment in PE that forced the municipality to fire their municipal manager – unfortunately I do not have a copy of this judgment. Can someone in the Sundays River or Kirkwood are help me here?

According to Ken Denysschen of Mpofana, rates may only increase by CPIX, and not above. Any rates increase above this rate, which currently is 5,4%, is illegal. If you would like to find out the law that governs this, please contact Ken directly. His contact details are on the NTU website and his cell number is 082 – 907-1923. This also follows a request from Oliver Ransome of Ramsgate to find the legislation concerning the fact that salaries and wages may not be more than 35% of budget. If someone has some information on this, please let me know so that I can publish it.

Merweville residents had a meeting with their municipal manager. They asked questions about above-inflation rates increases, the fact that roads were not being surfaced, there was no job creation, that the budget had a surplus of R28million (yet their rates were still being increased above inflation). What outraged the residents was that the Municipal Manager, despite earning almost a million rand a year, could not answer their questions about the budget and did not appear even to have read it. The RA made the following suggestions: getting solar ovens for the indigent; holding solar energy seminars to encourage people to use solar power, job creation through waste recycling.

Kannaland RA have delivered objections regarding their draft budget 2010/2011. They claim that the process of public participation was not done in accordance with the law (the MFMA). They claim the draft budget as published is riddled with errors, and insist on a revised budget to the drawn up and tabled for approval.

The Emfuleni RA also submitted recommendations regarding proposed amendments to the Property Rates Act. These make interesting reading and answer many of the questions that often arise from ratepayers. Get a copy from Mari Myburgh, her contact details on the NTU website under Contacts.

A copy of a dispute document is available on request to indicate an example of a dispute. Please note that when a dispute is lodged with the municipality, each member of the ratepayers associations must declare an individual dispute.

The Ratepayers of Howick delivered an excellent presentation to the Municipality, and it might be worthwhile for other RAs to see how they have approached their problems. Ask me for a copy of the document.

The government has admitted to a Water Affairs portfolio committee meeting in Parliament that they have for years failed to properly regulate municipal sewage works, which are now responsible for discharging untreated sewage into rivers and dams across the country. This admission came ahead of the Water Affairs Department release of the Green Drop report, which assessed 449 or the country’s 852 waste water treatment plants. It found that only 32% of them qualified for Green Drop status. One of the measures suggested to deal with this, was to replace the old management approach of incentives, which wasn’t working, with punitive measures against municipalities that did not comply.

South Africa’s lack of water supply is already impeding socio-economic development, says Business Leadership South Africa and the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE). The problems identified were: a lack of political leadership; weak water management; lack of maintenance of infrastructure; the impact of acid mine drainage (AMD) and uncontrolled waste of water.

In Kimberley, there are fears that sewage pollution of the Kamfer Dam, which is the breeding ground for the endemic Lesser Flamingo, will kill the birds, which breed here and no-one else. The Save the Flamingo association under Dr Jan Roos in Bloemfontein, is monitoring the situation.

The national government has reacted to many services delivery problems by proposing further centralization of services. In Tshwane, for instance, there is a proposal to extend the boundaries of the Metro to include outlying districts. In many municipalities, turn-around strategies include centralization. This is a recipe for disaster and must be opposed as vigorously as possible. Most municipalities cannot administer their existing areas, so to add more areas is simply going to slow the process down even further. RAs must keep an eye on these developments, and make it clear that this is not a solution. Some proposed plans will cripple municipalities even further: these include a centralization of electricity supply (which will redirect the surcharge that municipalities get from electricity); a centralization of traffic fines (which will deprive municipalities of income from fines); government-owned properties such as ports, airports and government buildings will not be subject to rates.

Mangaung Municipality’s budget makes provision for a 22% increase in across-the-board tariffs – 29% for electricity, 15% for water, 13% for rates. The budget will be tabled this week. The municipality is R1,3billion in debt.

Philipstown has brought a charge of fraud against their municipality and this was referred to the Commercial Crimes Unit in Kimberley. The municipality threatened to cut off the electricity of the disputers, but after they wrote a letter setting out the causes of their grievances the threat was withdrawn.

Residents of Knysna has been made aware that the entire rates component of their town budget will be used to pay salaries, and that services will have to come out of tariff surcharges. The residents might be aware that, according to law, salaries and wages cannot be more than 35% of a town’s budget. If it is, residents can reject the budget, call a dispute and withhold their rates.

Organisations across society – from Cosatu to Afriforum – are all warning that Eskom’s tariff increases will make electricity unaffordable for at least a further third of existing Eskom customers by 2014. This last week I had to recommend to a ratepayer that they sell their house as they can no longer afford the rates and service charges and have fallen into unrecoverable arrears. There is an irony here, though: municipalities write off millions of rands every year in unpaid rates, yet other people are losing their houses because of unaffordability. This points once again to a failure of government, as one of the key performance areas of municipalities is to recover rates. When a municipality writes off rates arrears, it is an admission that they are not doing their job. In Bloemfontein, the municipal debt is currently running at R1,3 billion because of the number of people moving into the municipal area from the rural areas in order to get free services. A further irony is where ratepayers are withholding rates and delivering services themselves at a fraction of the cost that the municipality does – this is proof, if proof were needed, that municipalities are wasting ratepayers money on a vast scale. The problem, therefore – as it seems to be with everything – is not a lack of money but a lack of effective government.

The chairman of the National Water Forum, Louis Meintjies, who is also the deputy president of TLU SA, laid criminal charges against three ministers last week. The Ministers of Water Affairs, Mining and Agriculture were charged with criminal negligence regarding water pollution which is impacting on national food security. The incident made international headlines. The charges were laid according to the Water Act of 1998, which makes provision for criminal charges if pollution through negligence can be proved. The charges include: pollution of the Kamfer Dam outside Kimberley; pollution of the Vaal River, pollution of the Hartebeespoort Dam, pollution of the Crocodile River; pollution of Biesies Vlei near Lichtenburg; pollution of the Blesbok stream; 34 other instances of pollution through official neglect. The ministers have not yet reacted to the charges.

Many people have enquired about starting a ratepayers association in their area and then joining the NTU. The process is as follows:
Start a local ratepayers association. A Constitution for RAs is on the website. Inform your local municipality that you have started a community-based organization. The Municipality has to acknowledge you in terms of the Municipal Systems Act 32/2000, Article 16 – 22.
Once your organization has been created, you can join the NTU. Contact Jaap Kelder at info@zanli.co.za to get the banking details and joining criteria.
Now you can start to create a paper trail for all your issues. Write letters to your municipality setting out all the problems in your area. Set deadlines for issues to be dealt with – make these deadlines realistic and do not accept the excuse that there is no money. It is advisable to attempt to meet with municipal officials regarding problems to make sure that you know who you are dealing with. These initial meetings might bear surprising success, and it will allow you to get the measure of the people in council. If the council will not meet with you, or cancels meetings, then you have strengthened your own case.
If the deadlines set out in your letters of complaint are not met, each member of your association should declare a dispute with the municipality. This is done on the basis of common law, regarding the non-fulfilment of contractual obligations, ‘exeptio contractus non adempleti’.
If there is still no action or reaction from the municipality, open a trust fund and put all rates and service charges into a trust account. Use people’s municipal account numbers as references on the account. At the end of every month, pay over the service charges to the municipality, while retaining the rates charges in the account. Notify the municipality of this action. You can, perhaps, in consultation with your members, arrange either to pay the service charges for lights and water through the trust account, or members must pay these individually. However, it is very important that these charges are paid otherwise services can be suspended and you will have lost the moral high ground and any chance of success.
If there is still no action or reaction from the municipality, you can begin to consider providing services yourself. This can either be done through buying materials and doing the work yourselves, or hiring contractors to do the work. Make sure that you keep a very good record of all work done and payments for this work. Services that can be provided in this regard are repairing equipment at the sewage works, fixing roads, pavements and potholes, street signs, dealing with infrastructure. This is done under the common law principle of ‘Negotiorum gestio’.
If there is still no action or reaction from the municipality, you can apply to become an external service provider in terms of Sections 76 – 86 or the Municipal Systems Act 32/2000.
No action is allowed to be taken against a rates disputer in terms of the Municipal Systems Act 32/2000, Section 102 (2).
In terms of Section 139 of the Constitution, a provincial government must intervene if a municipality is not being effectively run. There must be some empirical evidence of this, such as collapse of services, a rejected budget, qualified audit report, evidence of fraud or corruption, etc. There are two ways in which province can intervene: in terms of section 139(1)(b) where the council remains in place and the administration is taken over by an outside administrator appointed by the MEC for Local Government; or in terms of section 139(4) where the council must be suspended and the administrator takes over completely. If provincial intervention is not successful, National Government must intervene. As ratepayers therefore, you can do the following: if you have followed the dispute mechanism to its conclusion, you at least have the knowledge that your ratepayers money is not going to disappear but at least has been kept in a trust account. Decide which of the sections of the Constitution are most relevant for your purposes. Notify the MEC for Local Government of any instances that might require intervention. If there is intervention, monitor it closely and if there is no visible improvement, notify the national minister and request intervention. In the meantime, your rates have been kept in a trust account so there will be funds to keep the municipality going while the mess is being sorted out.
A further recommendation is to prevent re-deployment, which is a favourite trick of the ANC. Officials get fired from one municipality (or they resign one step ahead of an investigation) and then pop up in another high-paying job somewhere else. If you have knowledge of any official in your municipality who has resigned ahead of an investigation, who has been suspended or fired, let me know those names. We will compile a list. It will be instructive to see if these people get jobs elsewhere.

If you would like to be placed on this mailing list, please send a request to nicolettebrandt007@gmail.com

Number 36

A PE High Court ruled in February that ratepayers can fire useless and corrupt municipal officials. 
Four Kirkwood ratepayers took legal action against their Sundays River Valley municipal manager who had been found guilty of mismanagement during a displinary committee hearing but could not legally be fired.  The High Court ruled that Siphiwe Sohena’s contract could be terminated with immediate effect and he was ordered to pay the cost of the application.  The court application was also brought against the MEC for Local Government, and a later court will decide if the MEC is also liable.   The court action came after the municipality was placed under administration and Sohela put in charge, after he had already been found guilty of mismanagement by a disciplinary committee.  I am trying to find contact details for the Kirkwood ratepayers, as I am sure that many people would like to find out the circumstances of their court victory.  This is a good way to prevent re-deployment of useless officials who are fired out of one municipality and then pop up in another.  This is already happening in Pietermaritzburg, where fired councilors and officials are being offered jobs in other municipalities in KZN.

Three of South Africa’s nine capital cities have been placed under administration.  In total, 24 municipalities are under administration.   Only six municipalities got a clean audit for the last financial year.  However, prof Deon Scott, an economy expert at Unisa, said that the standards for clean audits were far too high, and qualified audits did not necessarily mean that the municipality was in trouble.  Scott has identified a bad attitude from municipal officials as an even greater problem than lack of skills or resources.  The bad attitude, he says, stems from the high politicization of municipal services and the inflexible labour legislation.  Politic infighting can paralyse a municipality, he says.  The three capital cities under administration are Tshwane, Pietermaritzburg and Kimberley.

Facts and figures:  It is going to cost R75 billion to fix South Africa’s roads, according to Sanral, and this is regarded as a conservative estimate.  Most of the problem comes from the fact that municipalities are receiving budgets from National Treasury to fix roads, but are not using these funds correctly.  Water Affairs, in the same context, have asked for R100 billion from national treasury to fix the country’s water supply problems.  R23 billion is needed urgently to prevent complete collapse.  Once again, municipalities have been receiving money but not spending it properly.  One simply has to ask where is all the money going?  These are questions that ratepayers should be asking of their municipalities – councils receive grant funding from the treasury, as well as service payments from ratepayers.  These should be used for capital projects, maintenance and repair.  If they are not being used for this purpose, then the municipality is breaking the law and can be prosecuted.

Deadlines for budget input has passed, but ratepayers should still look at their council’s budget.  According to law, a maximum of 35% is allowed for salaries.  If this figure is being exceeded, then ratepayers can reject a budget and report their municipality to the auditor-general.

Mr Lood de Jager sent an urgent message to the Department of Water Affairs about the fact that the entire effluent of Phalaborwa (6 megalitres per day) was being dumped into the Thutsi stream that runs through the Kruger National Park.  De Jager stated that this had been going on since 2007, despite numerous complaints.  The Dutch government had donated a treatment plant in 2006, but this had never been used by the municipality and had subsequently been vandalized.  A Ms Mamogala Kadiaka, the Director of Water Sector Regulation and Use for the Mpumalanga region, replied to Lood, and arranged a site visit with him.  It seems that Ms Kadiaka is on the ball, and might be a good contact for people with water problems in Mpumalanga.  Her details are on the website, under Contacts.

In a similar story, tons of raw sewage are flowing into the Sandspruit near Welkom and thence into the Bloemhof dam.  We are waiting to hear if the local RA in Welkom has taken any action.  Ratepayers can report these instances of pollution to the police, to the Green Scorpions, to the Department of Water Affairs.  If you need some moral support, contact Lood of Phalaborwa to find out how he did it.

The South African Local Government Association (Salga) has been accused by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) of mismanagement and chaotic finances. Salga is supposed to be a municipal oversight body, with funding derived from municipal levies from the 283 municipalities.   The KZN branch of Salga, Kwanaloga, is the most chaotic. Almost R18 million of irregular expenditure will have to be written off.

Sasolburg ratepayers took the bull by the horns and fixed a number of potholes in the town.  According to Elisbie Kies, who wrote a letter to the municipal manager, the potholes were correctly repaired and up to standard and the work was done with the knowledge of the municipality – although she did say that no-one was working at the municipality on that day as they were all on strike.  Sasolburg RA has forwarded the bill for the road repair to the council, and warned that if the bill is not paid the RA will declare a dispute and withhold rates to pay for further repairs.  If anyone would like to contact Elisbie about similar issues, her e-mail address is elisbie.kies@gmail.com

All farmers and rural property owners take note:  a property that falls within a mountain catchment area is NOT liable for rates.

In Heilbron, the waste dump has been abandoned as the municipality can no longer pay  management company Enviro-fill to manage it.  The Heilbron ratepayers are already in dispute with their municipality and are trying to resolve the situation so that the municipal dump does not deteriorate beyond repair.  For more information on this, please contact Elize Laubscher at 082 – 416-8950 or hgiv@absamail.co.za

Problems have been identified with regard to inconsistent application of property valuations and rates.  This was revealed after a Parliamentary briefing between Western Cape rate-payers associations and senior management of the Department of Co-operative Governance.  It emerged that there are too many inconsistencies in municipal valuations, and this is something the department needs to look at urgently.  90% of all complaints received by the Department have to do with incorrect municipal evaluations.

A news story that had the Cullinan district ratepayers in a fury, was that the mayor of this bankcrupt municipality bought herself a new R300 000 car, despite the council not having the money to provide services.  This has been named as a very good reason to withhold rates, as at least it is not the ratepayers’ money that is being spent in this way.

Mbombela Ratepayers can celebrate a victory – disputers who had their water supply cut off for withholding rates won a court case to have the supply reinstated.  Find out more from Mbombela Ratepayers Association by contacting mbombelarates@vodamail.co.za

Johan de Klerk of Rustenburg Ratepayers Association has designed a computer programme specifically for managing issues such as membership, fees, etc of ratepayer associations.  If anyone thinks they can run their RA better by using this programme can contact Johan at johan@designersofsoftware.co.za or 082 – 891-3912

Carien Visser of Sannieshof has sent a letter to the local government’s new administrator (the council was placed under administration recently) setting out the reasons for the ratepayers dispute and the conditions for the suspension of the dispute.  Carien has always been the most active member of the NBU and has broken ground in many areas.  She has a Facebook group and is happy to dispense advice to anyone else with similar problems.  Contact her at 083 442 5409 or e-mail flowers2die4@lantic.net

The Sutherland Ratepayers Association has now joined the fray, expressing their frustration with their municipal budget.  None of the items outlined in the Mayor’s Programme have been completed, and the council has delayed any public participation until after the budget has been passed – which is against the law.  The RA has been advised to submit written questions and, if these are not dealt with, to reject the budget, call in an administrator from the Province, dissolve the council and start the process from scratch.  The most immediate implication is that no rates can be levied while this process is underway.  Anyone who wants to chat with Sutherland about this, can contact Jannie Symington at sym@hantam.co.za]

Useful contacts:  Frik Mulder is an expert on municipal budgets and their implementation.  He can be contacted on frik@phambili-energy.co.za

Louis Meintjies is the chairman of the National Water Forum:  082 – 461-7262

Danie Eichstadt is a good contact for advice, he is the chairman of the Dihlabeng (Bethlehem) RA and is very active and informed.    Call him on 082 – 336-2353

Some interesting statistics with regard to rates and taxes: personal income tax contributes 8,6% to South Africa’s GDP. Company tax contributes 7,5%. VAT and excise contributes 2%. Compare this with the next largest contributor, manufacturing, that contributes 1,5%. And mining and tourism that contribute 0,2% respectively. This seems to indicate that South Africans are overtaxed in relation to other income streams. Further, only 2,3% of taxpayers account for 29% of all income tax. 5,5 million taxpayers support a population of almost 50 million people.

Additionally, the more tax you pay, the less service you get from the government. Upper income tax-payers get less than 17c worth of government service for every tax rand, but lower income tax-payers get R20 worth of government service for every tax rand. Economist Mike Schussler has been warning for some years that this tax imbalance is unsustainable, especially as each taxpayer supports eight non-taxpaying people. However, it can also go to show that taxpayers, if they do unite, can be quite a force to be reckoned with.

Proposed amendments to the property rates act will increase the tax-exempt threshold for lower-income householders, which means that a greater burden of rates is going to be placed on the lower-middle and middle income earner.

Against the backdrop of the greatest number of service delivery protests in South Africa since 1994, Minister of Local Governance Sicelo Shiceka paid his department’s top officials an average of R100 000 each in performance bonuses for the last financial year. This is over and above their already generous salaries. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts has called this a disgrace and has expressed concern about the government’s practice of awarding performance bonuses for non-performance.

It is going to cost R23 billion to restore South Africa’s roads to an acceptable state, said a parliamentary spokesman during a debate on the state of South Africa’s roads. However, Azir Alli of the National Roads Agency says that the problem is not lack of funds, but lack of good road management. The NTU has established a Roads Committee for this very purpose, with Pieter van der Westhuizen in charge. His contact details are on the website.

Municipal water supply is also under the spotlight. A report released this week identified that 55% of municipalities had water services that were on the verge of collapse. The Water Affairs Minister said that this was good news – she explained this comment by saying that it was positive news because not all water supply services are on the verge of collapse (she added that the country was not yet in crisis because people were not yet dying). However, this report is not absolutely truthful – the real facts are that 55% of the services SURVEYED were in this state. The report was not able to assess all water supply services in the country. Rural water supply was not part of this survey, and it can confidently be assumed that rural water supply would not be in as good a state as city water supply (rural services are on the whole in a worse state than city services because of lack of skills). Therefore these statistics, bad as they are, are actually misleading. The real situation, as revealed earlier in this bulletin, is that only 3% of the country’s water supply services are functional.
The NTU Water Committee is also very active in this regard. Contact details are on the website.

Brits (Madibeng) ratepayers had a meeting with the Local Governance Minister, and discovered that he was incensed by the bad management of the local Madibeng Municipality (which has subsequently been placed under administration and was recently in the headlines for the dangerous quality of their drinking water). The Minister apparently promised not to pursue the matter of withholding of rates until the municipality had sorted out its affairs.

The Minister’s attitude towards withholding of rates has once again raised the question of the legality of this ploy. At first, many legal commentators were of the opinion that it was illegal, but several of them have subsequently changed their minds. The problem is that the issue has never been tested in court. The DA have announced that they are prepared to test this in court in order to get a legal precedent, but I have been unable to confirm this with the DA. If a legal precedent was obtained, and it turns out that withholding rates is a legally permissable form of protest, this will have the most important repercussions for South African society since 1994, as it will change the balance of power in South Africa completely.

Residents in Bordeaux-South in Johannesburg won a court interdict against the municipality to allow them to install boom gates in their suburb. They were able to prove to the court that the area has high levels of violent crime and that petitions to the municipality had gone unheeded. The outcome of the court victory was that the Metro council agreed to meet with the residents’ association of South Bordeaux to try to find a solution to the crime problem.

The Hennenman Residents Forum declared a dispute, withheld rates, and are now using their rates to maintain their town. Over a year, the improvement has been remarkable – potholes have been fixed, pavements repaired, fences painted, traffic circles landscaped, gravel roads graded, weeds on verges mown. The town is looking extremely attractive – and, just as in Sannieshof, it is all done using a fraction of the rates income required by the municipality.

Irene Main is a member of the NTU Water Committee, and she has undertaken to alert the World Health Organisation about the poor state of South Africa’s water supply. She has also made contact with Germany’s Green Party, who are very active in lobbying for better environmental practices. The South African government, when approached by the WHO organization, denied that there was any pollution in South Africa’s water, but Irene compiled a DVD of water pollution and this has caused quite a stir.

If you would like to be placed on this mailing list, please send a request to nicolettebrandt007@gmail.com

• In case you missed it last week, please join the SA Ratepayers Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=taxpayers&init=quick#!/group.php?gid=372830810387&ref=search&sid=568424523.2514304017..1

• Breaking news from Pietermaritzburg: the city was placed under administration, and the administrator is talking tough. He has said that he found an administration that was rotten to the core, and that officials might not get salaries this month as ordinary workers will need to be paid first. There are calls to fire these officials, but instead the MEC has asked them all to resign. This is problematic, as a resigned official can immediately walk into another job. Officials guilty of mismanagement might be asked to refund the municipality out of their own pockets, especially with regard to abuse of cell-phones and computers. So – it can be done! The only pity is that is requires a municipality to collapse completely before there is intervention. This is why ratepayers associations are so important – they can get problems noticed before a municipality hits bottom.

• It’s not official, but Minister for Co-operative Governance Sicelo Shiceka has announced in today’s newspaper that he is prepared to work with the NTU on a few pilot towns to see if a new system of co-operative government will work. There are apparently some hitches to the agreement that are holding up progress, but it is hoped that these can be resolved. It is will be interesting to see how these towns fare under a new system!

• Another reminder to ratepayers that knowing the law is your best weapon against dysfunctional municipalities. The Property Rates Act, The Municipal Systems Act, and the Municipal Finance Management Act are very good pieces of legislation to get to know. Here’s another one: The Occupation Health and Safety Act contains much information to hold municipalities to account. According to Occupational Professional Dirk Niesing, Section 16 (application of the law by the Municipal Manager); Section 9 (which sets out that a municipality may not undertake activities which hold dangers for non-employees – in other words, ordinary residents may not be endangered by municipal operations such as roadworks, potholes, electrical installations, dangerous drinking water, fencing, open manholes, crumbling pavements, faulty sewage works. The pumping of raw sewage into streams, therefore, therefore, can fall under this law as well); Section 37 covers the work of contractors as well; Section 32 compels a municipality to conduct a formal investigation in the case of death, injury or damage to property as a result of municipal activities. You can contact Dirk at 083 – 635-2912 or info@safetywise.co.za

• A quick update on the vd Merwe case of last week – it has emerged that if you have been paying rates and services for two years, the municipality cannot sue you for a debt incurred before that. The vd Merwes are preparing, with the NTU’s help, to fight the municipality on this debt. They have several precedents in their favour.

• Support from an unexpected quarter: COSATU in the North-West are calling for the removal of the mayor and all the councilors in Madibeng (Hartebeespoort Dam), blaming their ‘dirty political agenda’ for the chaos in the council. COSATU also blames officials for all the corruption in the North West that is hampering service delivery. It might be worthwhile for ratepayers to liaise with COSATU to find out how they can co-ordinate their efforts. This would certainly go a long way towards de-racialising rates and services issues. COSATU’s provincial secretary in NW is Solly Phetoe. A further news report states that the Madibeng council might face legal action over their negligence in allowing the pollution of Hartebeespoort Dam. Letter sent to the North West premier, requesting urgent action regarding the complete collapse of service delivery in this area, have been ignored. This is despite threats from communities that they will demonstrate and protest during the World Cup. In further controversy, the provincial government has paid more than R70 million for work on roads that has not been satisfactorily completed.

• Several municipalities are about to be delimited – in other words, they might have their boundaries changed. This is a normal process, as in a dynamic society ward demographics change all the time. However, there is a suspicion that some of these war boundaries might be changed in order to submerge minority groups into larger groups so that the ANC can continue to win local elections ie. political gerrymandering. If this is the case, there is a piece of legislation that might be helpful in protesting against this. It has been placed on the website, named Ward Delimitations: Legal Provisions.

• Umbilo Ratepayers Association in Durban is considering a class action suit against the Ethekwini Municipality for damages resulting from a poorly-guarded electrical sub-station, where cables are regularly stolen. The power surges after the problem is fixed have destroyed many appliances. The residents might want to look at the Occupational Safety legislation as well, for more ammunition.

• Rates arrears (not including rates paid into trust accounts, and used to provide services) have now risen to more than 2% of South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product, a rise of more than 5% from last year. This is according to economist Mike Schussler, who says this is an unsustainable situation. The only municipality that has managed to decrease its debt book is Johannesburg, but it still has outstanding debt of R9 billion. Most municipalities write off their outstanding debt every year, regarding it as unrecoverable, but this is placing an unfair burden on households that do pay their rates. This phenomenon (of writing off annual debt by municipalities) has made South Africa the largest welfare state in the world, according to Schussler. Rates defaulters across South Africa owe their municipalities a total of R56 billion. KZN’s municipal debt is R7 billion, which will have to be written off as it is unrecoverable. 11 municipalities in KZN did not manage to recover any rates at all. Of all municipal income the MEC for Finance of KZN expressed concern that only 8% of income was spent on repairs and maintenance, well below the recommended minimum of 25%.

• A Phalaborwa court issued an interdict to the municipality, compelling it to re-connect electricity disconnected as a result of a dispute over municipal accounts. Five separate court cases were successful; costs were awarded to the residents. If anyone would like more information about these successful court cases, contact Roelf du Plooy – his number is under Contacts on the website. It is important to note here that EVERY SINGLE court case against the disconnection of electricity in the case of a dispute has been successful – there is now overwhelming evidence that it is illegal to disconnect electricity if a dispute has been declared. Kroonstad has also had one success after another – for those faced with similar issues, the court judgments are available. Send me a request via e-mail and I will send them to you.

• Electricity in South Africa is no longer cheap: not only is Eskom hiking tariffs, but municipalities are allowed to place surcharges on the electricity they supply to the consumer. In some cases, municipalities make half of their income from this surcharge. RAs should keep an eye on the premium charged by their councils, to make sure that they are not excessive. You can get guidelines for surcharges from Eskom.

• The environmental group WESSA reacted to evidence that the Springs municipality was pumping raw sewage into the Blesbokspruit, a RAMSAR site and declared wetland. Photographic evidence is supporting the action they are taking against the municipality.

• An NTU member defied threats of arrest to fix the potholes in the road outside his property. Pierre Bouwer studied the correct way to fix potholes, bought the material and fixed the potholes, despite threats from the municipality to arrest him if he went ahead. Bouwer says that the potholes have not been merely filled with gravel, but properly repaired. He challenges others to do the same.

• 19 out of the 29 municipalities of the Northern Cape could not be audited in this last financial year because their finances were so chaotic. Others were problematic and only two (Kareeberg and Frances Baard) got unqualified audit reports. However, if this is placed in context, the Northern Cape is the only province in South Africa where more than one municipality got an unqualified audit report! Auditor-General Terence Nobembe said that senior government leaders should visit municipalities more regularly in an oversight role. Here is a good idea of ratepayers associations: request a visit from your MEC to oversee the work of your municipality. If each RA could keep an eye on its town’s books (which is well within its mandate) then these problems could be anticipated and prevented. Most of the problems, said NC premier Hazel Jenkins, was that municipalities appointed financial managers without the necessary qualifications. This is also something that ratepayers can keep an eye on – ask for your financial manager’s qualifications. If they do not have adequate qualifications, then they have been illegally appointed.

• Cape Town has requested national intervention to prevent illegal electricity connections. If you want to know more about this, as ratepayers, contact the Cape Town manager of Infrastructure and Electricity Services, Marius v Westhuizen at 084 – 645-1261

• The Municipal Systems Act is being revised, with the amendments before Parliament at the moment in order to be gazetted by the end of April. Here are some of the changes proposed: officials must comply with the qualifications necessary for their jobs; councilors who appoint unqualified staff will have to pay the contract damages out of their own pockets; officials are not allowed to occupy senior political positions; managers found guilty of fraud or corruption will be suspended without salary; managers who face disciplinary action, may not be redeployed or resign; there will be better supervision of salaries. Comment: some of these amendments might be in conflict with our labour laws, so this is an interesting development! Let’s see who wins this round.

• A news story has named Lichtenburg as the town in South Africa with the most potholes on a street-percentage basis (100%). The town also has problems with municipal accounts, where amounts on the accounts are clearly wrong but the municipality insists on being paid before they investigate.

• Here is an official list of town councils who are guilty of polluting their water supply: http://www.pmg.org.za/node/18256

• Caliltzdorp (Kannaland) which is busy with a dispute and with-holding action, issues a regular bulletin about their ratepayer issues. If you would like to receive this bulletin, please contact Hennie Smit at mailto:marasmit@absamail.co.za

• If you would like to be placed on this mailing list, please send a request to nicolettebrandt007@gmail.com

• SA Ratepayers now have their very own Facebook group! Please go online and join at http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=taxpayers&init=quick#!/group.php?gid=372830810387&ref=search&sid=568424523.2514304017..1

• I have received several letters from people interested in starting or resuscitating Ratepayers Associations. This is the best possible news. Just to assist, perhaps a little background would be useful: before 2000, ratepayer associations were relatively active and successful. However, after the new Demarcation Act was introduced, the government proposed Ward Committees, which were supposed to do the work of Ratepayers Associations. The idea was, actually, a good one: instead of just ratepayers being represented, all residents – not just ratepayers – in a ward would enjoy equal representation. However, like many good government ideas, this one just didn’t work. There were a few instances where the ward committee did its job, but in most cases the ward committees were very quickly dysfunctional. This vital link, therefore, between local government and residents was broken. Ratepayers’s associations rose up again, as a result of the huge gap. At first, the local government did not want to acknowledge the legitimacy of RAs, which caused a problem. However, the law clearly states that all citizen groups must be acknowledged as role-players in government, which is why the RAs are enjoying a resurgence. There is no doubt that a good, active RA can make the world of difference to service delivery. Many organizations have called themselves Residents Associations, in order to include non-ratepaying residents, and these are even more successful. So – if you are thinking of starting or joining your local RA – what are you waiting for? If you care at all about your quality of life, this initiative has proved to be the most active and effective way of engaging with local government.

• Mrs Esme vd Merwe of Durban contacted me with a problem. She had bought a house from the railways in the late 90s, and the then-SAR paid up rates for a year in advance. The first time she received a rates bill was after the re-evaluation of properties in 2008, when her property was valued at R800 000, and she began paying rates accordingly from the new valuation. A few months ago she received a letter from the municipality, telling her that they had now discovered they had not been billing her for the better part of ten years, and that her arrears had suddenly become due. They required an immediate payment of R38 000. Esme went to visit the municipal office to ask if it was possible to pay this sum off over a period of time, as the lump sum was beyond her means. The municipality replied by cutting off her electricity until she is paid up in full.

I have advised Esme to declare a dispute with the municipality with immediate effect. Firstly, the arrears bill she received does not comply with the Property Rates Act, as it does not state the previous value of her property or the means by which the municipality arrived at the sum owing. I am also not too sure about the proscription of this debt, as it is decades old. She is to give the municipality 24 hours to reconnect her electricity, and if they do not do so, the NTU will support her in getting an interdict. There might be some costs involved, and she is in no position to pay for a lawyer (one of the greatest ironies of civil action is that it usually requires you to rack up legal debts, while the municipality uses your money to fight you in court!). However, I am going to try to get someone to handle this case pro bono, as it is a test case for Durban.

There are many people in similar situations, who are faced with exactly the same arrogance and insensitivity from officialdom. I will keep you informed.

• In related news, the RA of Underberg is about to declare a dispute with their municipality over budget discrepancies. They are already in talks with KZN MEC for Finance, Ina Cronje, who has been tasked with investigating local governments in KZN that are abusing funds. If their talks with Mrs Cronje (who, I must say, is a very competent MEC) do not bear fruit, they will take the step of declaring a dispute.

• Kimberley’s four refuse-removal trucks are non-functional, and the residents of Kimberley are forced to remove their own refuse. This has been the case since the middle of March. The municipality says that all four trucks are beyond repair and they are waiting for the delivery of two new ones. In the meantime, rubbish has been piling up on street corners and in informal dumping areas, where in many cases it has created a health hazard.

• The Cullinan Ratepayers Association says it has established a good relationship with the new Acting Municipal Manager and is optimistic that progress with be made. The relationship with the previous municipal manager was adversarial and confrontational, but the approach of the new incumbent is very different. This is again a case of where a Ratepayers Association is forming a vital link between the residents and the municipality.

• Municipal workers in Brits have gone on strike, demanding the removal of the town’s mayor. They are unhappy, they say, with political interference in the running of the municipality, and the council’s appointment of outside contractors to do municipal worker’s jobs.

• Local Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka has said that government departments are also culprits when it comes to non-payment for services. He was speaking at the launch of the turn-around strategy. He expressed dissatisfaction at the level of skills in municipalities, but promised that the government was busy upgrading skills at the local level. Personal comment: This is all fine talk, but at least the minister has set deadlines. Let’s see if these deadlines are met and what the results will be.
• Deadlines:
• April: every municipality will have been visited to find out the situation on the ground
• May/June: the budget requested by each municipality for a roll-out of the Turnaround Strategy will be approved.
• August/September: each of the 3 890 wards will be told which specific projects have been earmarked for their improvement.

• In a bizarre case of political deployment, the mayor of Welkom is trading places with the mayor of Bethlehem. Neither of these two officials are known to be good at their job. The reasoning behind the swap has not been explained, nor has there been any explanation who will pay the costs of accommodation or travel for these two traveling mayors. If anyone can give me a follow-up on this story, I would be very grateful.

• The RA of Brits is gathering affidavits in order to get a warrant of arrest for the mayor and the acting municipal manager. This follows allegations that the municipality is charging increased rates and tariffs that have not been approved through due process, and that they are allowing raw sewage to flow into the river from which Brits gets its water.

• In Beaufort West, the municipality began with legal action against its Ratepayers for withholding rates. However, they dropped the charges when it was discovered that the municipality had not applied to NERSA for permission to implement the new electricity tariffs. The RA issues a regular bulletin over ratepayer issues – if you would like to be on this mailing list, please contact Louis at lpr@isat.co.za

• If you would like to be placed on this mailing list, please send a request to nicolettebrandt007@gmail.com

Because of the extraordinary times we are living in, and the need for tax and ratepayers to become better mobilized, this letter will, as far as I am able, go out weekly instead of monthly.   A very kind volunteer has offered to assist with the website, so we can foresee some useful information going onto the website.

1. The tactic of declaring disputes with your municipality and paying rates into a trust account is a controversial issue, but at the moment it appears to be the only means for ratepayers to express their dismay at the collapse of service delivery in the absence of any other mechanism.  A very good example of a dispute document is on the website under ‘Documents’.  Where-ever this dispute mechanism has been applied, it has yielded results.
2. The ordinary person is not helpless when it comes to combating corruption – the laws exist, but they depend on citizen activism for effect.  If you are aware of corruption within your municipality, there is the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act, 2003. Find it at this website: www.gov.za/documents/acts . Go to the year 2004 and find Act 14.
3. Philipstown is the latest town to declare a dispute with its municipality over service collapse.  Their main reason for the dispute, apart from the collapse of services, is that their municipal accounts are faulty and the clerk at the municipality has been instructed not to deal with complaints.
4. Heilbron is going from strength to strength after the community took over service delivery after declaring a dispute and providing services themselves.  Anyone who would like to find out how to go about improving their own town in a similar way, contact Elize Laubscher of the Heilbron Ratepayers Association for guidance.  She can put you on her mailing list for her regular bulletin.  Her contact details are on the website under ‘Contacts’
5. The NTU has established a ‘Roads Committee’ to combat deterioration of their roads.  They offer practical advice about fixing potholes and maintaining road surfaces.  The committee head, Pieter van der Westhuizen, would like to hear from you if you have any problem roads.  He can be contacted on pdv.west@vodamail.com
6. The insurance giant Old Mutual has, unusually, criticized government interference for the poor performance of municipalities.  Old Mutual funds an organization called the Ilima Trust, which uses the experience and expertise of retired business and government experts to assist struggling municipalities.  However, the Ilima Trust has confirmed that political interference and astounding lack of skills is preventing any progress from taking place.  Old Mutual marketing director Crispin Sonn told the Parliamentary hearings on service delivery that very few municipal employees are able to do their jobs, and the few that are competent at hamstrung by politicians, who use municipal funds for their own purposes instead of service delivery.
7. Nine municipalities have been unable to pay their Eskom bills, to the extent that the districts are in danger of having their town’s supply cut off.  However, Eskom is not releasing the names of towns in arrears.  It is up to the residents to make sure that their municipality’s bills are up to date.  The question must be asked, though – the municipalities have been paid for this electricity by the residents, so where has the money gone?
8. Nick McConnell of Howick has been writing letters to his municipality, asking why the municipality is overcharging for electricity.  The Umngeni municipality increased its rates and then backdated the charges.  This is illegal.  He has had no reply and no action has been taken.  Nick wants to know if anyone else has similar problems.  You can contact him on 0)33 330 5341/3 or hubers@mweb.co.za
9. In Warrenton, school kids and local residents got stuck in and repaired roads in their town.  The residents of Kroonstad also tackled their potholes, with great success.  This was after they approached the municipality for urgent repairs to certain roads in the town – the municipality replied that they did not have the money to repair the roads.  This was after R38 million ‘disappeared’ out of municipal coffers.  The residents repaired the roads, and then submitted invoices to the municipality for the work done.  We have no word yet if the invoices were paid.
10. In Sannieshof, the municipal manager was suspended in February.  However, this is not a victory for the ratepayers as it is clear that the suspension was as a result of ANC infighting and not as a result of trying to clean up the administration of the town.  The ratepayers association therefore, have called for a full audit into tender irregularities, corruption and nepotism involving the councilors and officials who are left in place.  Another interesting piece of news from Sannieshof:  according to the records of the disputing RAs, is that the amount of money that is being withheld is 1,1% of the municipal debt.  But with this 1,1%, the residents of Sannieshof, Delareyville and Ottosdal are running the whole district – with money to spare.  If ever there was an indictment of the municipal waste and excess, it should be this.
11. In Kouga, a council employee is suspected of corruption when he bought a piece of municipal land for R17 500 when it was valued at R150 000.  The RA asked for advice on what to do in this case.  The advice was as follows: Lay a criminal charge with the police against the official concerned and all the officials who approved the sale.  Make sure that you have the documentary proof – in this case, the municipal evaluation as well as the offer to purchase.  Then write to the Minister of Local Government, with copies to the Auditor General, the Public Protector and the Provincial MEC for Local Government, informing them of the suspected corruption.
12. In Hartebeespoortdam, the quality of the local water is so bad that it can be classed as an emergency, and under these provisions the local RA was compelled to intervene.  The dispute action and withholding of funds has had some success.

Personal comment:  Without wanting to sound pessimistic, things are going to get worse before they get better.  Anyone with the wherewithal to do so, should try to make themselves as independent of government services as possible.  Look at alternative energies like solar or wind, look at raintanks, consider supporting non-governmental services.  The current trend – which shows no sign of being reversed – consists of deteriorating government services combined with steep increases in taxes and rates.  The NBU is setting up committees to deal with water quality and repair of roads.  Other committess are in the pipeline.  Join these committees to get your town working again.

1. If you would like to be placed on this mailing list, please send a request to nicolettebrandt007@gmail.com