Frustrated Durban ratepayers have put their money out of the municipality’s reach — until it gets its house in order.
That’s the ultimatum from a dozen ratepayer associations, encompassing several thousand households from Westville to Durban North, who have embarked on a rates boycott, after the latest tariff increase came into effect on July 1.
The Westville Ratepayers’ Association (WRA) wrote to city officials this week and has been joined by 11 more associations across the city. They highlight the city’s lack of consultation over the tariff increase, its governance failure resulting in wasteful and irregular expenditure that has resulted in neglected and damaged infrastructure, and a recent damning report by the auditor-general.
Referring to the municipal public accounts committee (MPAC) report, the association said the city should focus more on addressing wasteful expenditure amounting to millions of rand, and other financial losses.
“It has been reported that R427m in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE) had to be written off by this municipality. The report states the cumulative UIFWE totalling R346.6m was identified as repeat transgressions.
“Irregular expenditure amounting to R80.7m was identified as conflict-of-interest transgressions. This was in the last quarter of last year. And 615-million litres of water are lost daily, equating to more than R2bn,” the WRA says in its letter.
“No effort is being made to address this other than a higher water tariff. The city’s credit control policy is failing as the outstanding debt to the city has increased by R4.7bn over 12 months in the period February 2022 to February 2023,” the letter reads.
The association cited the 2022 report by the auditor-general in which the city failed to respond to complaints about ageing and damaged infrastructure.
WRA chairperson Asad Gaff said instead of paying their rates, residents would deposit money into an account which would be managed by an accountant, and contributions would be held until their concerns were addressed.
Gaff said ratepayers are “being held to ransom” and subjected to tariff increases, despite failing road, water, electricity and sanitation infrastructure.
“Our intention is not to punish the city but to get to the table so that we can have discussions on how we can address this. We are not fighting for Westville, the fight is for everyone in the city,” he said.
“If they decide to disconnect us, the question is, can the city survive one month with unpaid rates? Will they be able to pay salaries and run the city with no income? To dismantle apartheid, people had to make sacrifices. So to dismantle corruption and maladministration, we will make a sacrifice,” said Gaff.
Ratepayers were advised of the repercussions of joining the boycott, he added.
Gaff said more than 1,500 households in Westville are willing to participate and they were still compiling a data base as members were joining daily from other associations.
However, the eThekwini Ratepayers and Residents’ Association (Erra), which comprises 64 ratepayer associations including Umlazi, iNanda, KwaMashu and Tongaat, said while they are against the tariff increases, they have advised their members not to withhold rates payments.
Erra president Ish Prahlad said while he was aware many individual ratepayers had heeded the boycott call, Erra advises ongoing engagement with the city.
“Yes, some of our members have joined WRA in their call but many don’t have the financial muscle to take similar steps. We engaged and saw it fit to continue engaging the city to try to find a solution as we understand that boycotting rates will collapse the city,” he said.
Lindiwe Khuzwayo, an eThekwini municipality spokesperson, denied the WRA claims of not being consulted but wouldn’t elaborate further because of the dispute.
Khuzwayo warned that ratepayers who didn’t pay would be subject to penalties including fines and disconnections.
Elsewhere in the country, ratepayer associations also expressed dissatisfaction with services but stopped short of a boycott.
Residents nationally have complained about the stiff hikes in light of problematic infrastructure resulting in limited basic services such as water, lights, sanitation and roads while having to deal with the high cost of living.
Gqeberha implemented the highest electricity tariff increase, at 18.49%. eThekwini had the highest increase in sanitation, water and property, with Tshwane and Joburg not far behind.
In Pretoria, the Arcadia Ratepayers’ Association (Ara) is unhappy about the tariff increases in light of the poor service residents encounter daily.
“We are not adequately informed or consulted before decisions affecting hikes are taken,” said Ara chair Linda Tyrrell. “In general, the public participation process between the council and residents needs drastic improvement.”
In Cape Town, Camps Bay Ratepayers’ Association chair Chris Willemse, said the area was experiencing poor sanitation services, which didn’t justify the tariff increase.
“When you increase your rates, the least you can do is also make sure that your services are good,” said Willemse.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said tariff hikes are directly linked to the consumer price index, as pronounced by the National Treasury in March.
“The tariffs are not driven by the need to either recover the cost or make a profit. They seek to restore the city’s finances,” Dlamini said.
Julius Kleynhans, social innovation executive at the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said it was inconsiderate of the government and politicians to even contemplate increases. Instead, they should lessen the burden on residents and businesses and create a more attractive economy that will benefit ratepayers.
“Residents are paying for a service so how can it be justified if tariffs increase every year while service declines and corruption increases? Yet performance bonuses and salary increases for public servants seem to be an annual guarantee, regardless of performance. No wonder residents are getting so angry,” Kleynhans added.
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