Ratepayers’ organisations oppose City tariff hikes

With higher municipal tariffs set to come into effect on Monday, eThekwini Municipality ratepayers’ organisations have called on the City to put the hikes on hold.

Ratepayer organisations, including the uMhlanga Ratepayers’ Association, which contributes a large share to the City’s revenue, have argued that the new tariffs are not a reflection of the services they are getting from the municipality.

The City had to reduce some of its tariffs contained in the 2024-25 final budget after an outcry from residents and the business community.

The budget was passed by a full council in May. The tariffs come into effect on Monday.

The electricity tariff hike, initially set at 14%, was reduced to 12.72%. Rates increases by 6.5%, down from the initial 7.9%. Water will increase by 12.9%. Sanitation services will go up by 10.9%, and refuse by 7% for domestic use and 8% for businesses.

Ish Prahladh, president of the Ethekweni Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association, said they had hoped they wouldn’t increase and that the City would consider the plight of ratepayers and residents.

“More ratepayers and residents are going to be in trouble. They are going to lose homes and commit suicide because they cannot pay.

“Tariffs should be put on hold. They have plenty of other means to fund the increase’s, like their white elephant buildings and stadiums,” Prahladh said.

Asad Gaffar of the Westville Ratepayers’ Association said these increases were coming at a time when most people were struggling financially, including the middle class.

“This while eThekwini continues to be called out for wasteful expenditure. These increases will come as a shock to many consumers. As the Ratepayers’ Association, we will be guided by what our members want from us,” Gaffar said.

Terri MacLarty, chairperson of uMhlanga Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association, said, “We are naturally unhappy about any increases, considering the lack of services on all of these items - electricity, water, sanitation and rates, given that we in eThekwini pay the highest rates in the country with possibly the worst service. We do not agree with the increases in principle with services lacking.”

Meanwhile, the Durban High Court has handed down a draft order that will see the services of some residents that had been disconnected being restored.

The Westville Ratepayers’ Association and two other people had taken the matter to court after the City had cut services to two homes in a dispute over payments.

The dispute relates to free water that the City had given to residents that did not qualify. When the errors were discovered, the City demanded payment and some residents objected.

The Westville Ratepayers’ Association took the matter to court. It was listed in the court papers as the first application. Two households were listed as the second and third applicants. The eThekwini Municipality was listed as the first respondent.

In the Draft Consent Order handed down on Friday, the court said the first respondent ( eThekwini Municipality) undertook without admission of liability and without prejudice to its rights to reconnect water supply to the applicants until the interim relief sought by the applicants had been determined.

“The first respondent undertakes without any admission of liability and without prejudice to its rights that it shall not disconnect the electricity and the water supply of the second and third applicant and any member of the first applicant (Westville Ratepayers Association).”

Thhe applicants must deliver their heads of arguments by July 28 and the respondents by August 2.

Speaking on this order, Gaffar described it as temporary relief from disconnections until the matter had been heard. “That is all I can say.”

ANC Exco leader Nkosenhle Madlala said the matter that was in court was about the “free 6kl water” that was given to the ratepayers erroneously. “The concerned ratepayers are reviewing the City’s decision to recover this money. There are two ratepayers, who are the applicants, who were disconnected,” Madlala said.

“An order was taken, by consent, on Friday to reconnect them and suspend further disconnections pending the final determination of the review. If the court decides in the City’s favour, the debt will be recovered,” Madlala said.

“We note that this court order doesn’t extend to any other matters of dispute outside this review,” he said.

The Mercury