ANALYSIS
Had enough of the ruling class’s theft and incompetence? Westville ratepayers shed light on the way forward
There are examples around South Africa of people who have previously paid their council bills being up in arms. But nowhere is this as acute as in eThekwini, where developments herald a complicated future.
Events in eThekwini have led to a formal dispute between the council and ratepayers in Westville that may mark the beginning of a nationwide pattern. In short, as middle-class people of South Africa believe they are getting virtually nothing in return for the money they pay to councils, they are more likely to refuse to pay their rates and bills, pushing the very same cities and towns into an even deeper hole.
Despite the fact their move may be ruled illegal, because of the behaviour of these councils, many will regard the citizens’ actions as morally legitimate. It could mark the beginning of the end of the formal arrangement between councils and middle-class ratepayers, who may even defy court judgments against them.
There are examples around South Africa of people who have previously paid their council bills being up in arms. In Joburg, large numbers of residents are challenging the revaluation of their properties, saying it is simply a move to get more money from them. In Cape Town, ratepayers have protested against increased electricity tariffs.
Residents in many municipalities complain they are paying more and receiving less.
But nowhere is this as acute as in eThekwini, where developments herald a complicated future.
Since the beginning of July, members of the Westville Ratepayers Association (WRA) have refused to pay their rates and bills directly to the eThekwini Council, opting to pay them into a special account instead. The WRA says it will only pay the money over when the council properly consults them about some of the recent increases it has implemented.
There have been other incidents of this kind of protest in the past. None lasted, and at least one ended up in the Constitutional Court. In that case, the court appeared to rule that residents must pay their bills.
Poorer residents will suffer
Whatever the lawyers say, it must be remembered that councils use the rates paid by middle-class people to subsidise their services for poorer residents. If they don’t pay, those people will suffer very quickly.
In the past, the main weapon used by councils was cutting off electricity and water. This was a decision the council could make on its own without having to go to court, and if a council did this illegally, the onus was on the resident to challenge it in court.
This may now be changing.
As WRA chair Asad Gaff has explained, many residents have become so accustomed to load shedding that they have their own power supplies, including solar installations.
The other big lever of course was water. There have been so many water disruptions that people have resorted to other means here too, including the installation of large tanks to capture rainwater.
At the same time, many councils, and particularly eThekwini, have so little cash in reserve that they cannot survive for long without regular payments from residents.
eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has said that he would prefer a settlement over going to court.
He has already announced a reduction in the amount residents will pay for electricity, which suggests that the city blinked first.
However, the council that he leads appears to be almost deliberately trying to lose its legitimacy.
In the past few days, it has announced that it wants to spend R11-million on picnics, a hip-hop concert and the “commemoration” of public holidays. This comes after it used a closed council meeting to approve a decision to pay its city manager a salary of R3.9-million.
All of this is on top of the fact that eThekwini has been unable to manage its finances in the past.
Earlier this year, it emerged it had spent R579-million on a lighting project that should have cost R91-million.
It has allowed so much sewage to flow through its rivers that it cannot keep its beaches open.
The provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal is embroiled in a legal dispute with the city over its handling of the matter. In legal papers, the national Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation has accused City Manager Musa Mbhele of not engaging in good faith in his promises to resolve this.
The national government has attempted an intervention, but there is some evidence that Kaunda is pushing back against this.
And if that were not enough, the Auditor-General has slammed the city for mismanagement.
Amid this backdrop, it is no surprise ratepayers believe the money they are paying to eThekwini is being wasted at best and most likely simply stolen. And the more they pay, the more will be stolen.
They are angry. It’s not surprising they have refused to pay any money to the city.
Normally, in the case of a dispute, the court ruling is key. Despite some shortcomings (there can only be a winner and a loser, thus there is little room for negotiation) it is the only way to end a dispute that can be incredibly damaging.
Here, partly because of the impact of a middle-class ratepayers’ boycott on the poor, judges may rule in favour of the city, and say that people must pay what they owe. It is, after all, legally a debt (even if they consume no water and electricity, property owners still have a legal duty to pay their rates).
But, such is the evidence that the city is misspending its money, residents may still refuse to do so.
They will feel that the council has lost its legitimacy. Middle-class public opinion will certainly be with them. Is there anything that Mayor Kaunda can point at to prove that his administration is capable of governing properly?
Residents would feel they have the moral high ground to even defy the court order against their actions.
And if they did, what then?
There would be very few mechanisms to enforce payment. Perhaps the only option would be to get court order after court order to seize movable goods from residents’ homes through the sheriff’s office.
This would be mind-blowingly expensive for a council and would lead to further resistance from residents.
All of this would be watched closely by residents in Nelson Mandela Bay, Joburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Cape Town, Mangaung and many other metros. The future of South Africa, in many ways, may be defined by the local conflict between a corrupt and inept authority and people who are fed up with theft and incompetence. DM
You can’t sell (transfer) your house if your rates aren’t paid up. That is the one tool the government has in this case.
Who wants to buy property in Durbs?
Yeah, well all down to the council to make amends and how can they when theft is still its main work in progress. Glad I own nothing in Durbs, stinks, filthy, and no way to clean it. Toxic Joburg by the toxic sea. Viva anc, viva!
The times they are a changing. We are going to see a lot more of this.
Joburg City thinks that I owe them over R200k. Made up almost entirely of charges for imaginary water and sewage supply, and mostly of interest charges over the last 18 years. Every time I shout at them, they reverse some of the water and sewage charges, but never the interest.
I have a borehole and my own septic tanks and French Drains. There is no sewage at all in my area. Every now and again, they send their contractors out to cut off my water. They look at the zero reading on my meter, laugh, and go away. Next month, Joburg charges me an “estimated” fee for water again 🙈
Maybe you should complain in person to FF+ councillor. They really try to progress issues where they can.
I don’t see the need for all this rigmarole. The tax payers have a legal contract with the service supplier, they pay and the supplier must deliver, as easy as that. If they don’t pay it is breach of contract and if the supplier don’t deliver it is breach of contract. The taxpayers must come forward with a document with proof that they have paid and did not “receive”. Let the supplier explain why services weren’t delivered, is it due to the suppliers incompetence or due to the ever present corruption of their employees (which will probably be the case). And then SUE TEN KINDS OF S*** out of the guilty party/parties. The employees must be made aware that they have a job to do, they are not above the law and they can be held responsible for the gross neglection of their duties.
I salute the Westville Rate Payers for the stand that they have taken against the brazen theft, corruption and incompetence. This country will only change when the ordinary and decent citizens stand up for themselves and what is right, and chase these anc thieves, parasites and criminals from our midst. This self-serving and incestuous thieving bunch, masquerading as a council have it it so good for so long, like just about every anc municipality, using tax and ratepayer funds as their own ATMs with zero consequences. How can a city manager earn R3,9M – staggering beyond belief, no matter how educated and experienced, which I am sure Kaunda has just about zero of these attributes. Let’s hope many other ratepayers follow suit.
Here in Warner Beach and Winkelspruit the sewage pumps have not been working since before the floods. They replaced one pump, not the three needed which then broke down because it was over used. They blame loadshedding but there is a pristine 1500KVA Rolls Royce generator on site which has no diesel. Consequently every single river in the area is now a flood of pure shit.
The council workers try desperately to do their jobs with the limited resources available but the ANC thievery in upper Manage-ment is staggering.
As an example one man arranged for leaking water pipes to be fixed and was issued with a death threat by the local ANC councilor who runs the water tanker fleet.
Durban is very close to a revolt in a manner which the Mayor and his fellow Hyenas will be powerless to deal with.
Stephen, your comment:”Whatever the lawyers say, it must be remembered that councils use the rates paid by middle-class people to subsidise their services for poorer residents. If they don’t pay, those people will suffer very quickly.”
May I suggest: councils use the rates paid by middle-class people to subsidise ‘themselves – the huge salaries and fancy cars given to mayors and managemant is absolutely ludicrous. And undeserved and criminal, after this stealing has taken place there is nothing left for the poorer residents.
I agree with Willem Dreyer’s opinion that legal action should be instituted against these thieving Fat Cats. How can the ANC sit back and leave this action of thieving?
Sorry I forgot, the ANC are doing the same thing, so don’t dare rock the boat.
There is no-one as powerful as the payer. If you are a payer you are an employer, and time has come for the employee performance review.
Oooo, I like this. This is the power of desperation.
“If they don’t pay, those people will suffer very quickly.” “They” are the very persons that elected these criminals into council. Perhaps “they” should start making better choices.
Who makes sure that rate bills are paid into the trust account?
I can understand the urge to not pay now, as I understood it during the 80s and 90s. But the problem with not paying is that people get used to it. And when there’s a change in government they don’t say “oh well then! Now I’ll clear my arrears and resume paying.”
City of Tshwane is on the same path. The collection rate is 95%, but the City is bankrupt. The council approved a 28% salary increase in 2019, adding R2.8bn to that year’s expenditure. They have underspent more than R20bn over the past 7 years on capital. The budget for repairs is less than what it was in 2007. Roads are full of potholes, water pipes burst at least once a week. And transformers go up in smoke. The landfills are full, so now the city is becoming a waste dump. There is 4000 metro police on the payroll for 107 wards. Nearly one for every street block.
Unfortunately, despite our laws and constitution, at the end residents have no rights. Despite municipal services falling under the consumer protection act, there has only been one case taken up ever.
Democracy is not at absolute concept. It has certain preconditions. In the case of municipalities, the council is supposed to protect the interests of residents and do oversight (similar to a board of directors) This is not working. Councillors have become workers of a party instead of working for residents. And there is currently no mechanism for residents to get rid of useless councillors.
I have seen how councils blatantly ignore laws and take unlawful decisions without any consequences. Without accountability, nothing will change.
in summary : there are far more voters than there are payers. In a democrazy, as a politician : who would you woo?
Both voters and payers want jobs and service delivery. Currently, political parties are serving only themselves and their own party agendas.
Across the board, there seems to be no understanding that you have to earn the money you receive. You are not just entitled to it. If you want to receive the full price, you have to deliver the full service. This attitude of no responsibility to delivery has to change.
It is time that we all remind ourselves that government is our servant, not our master. They are elected by us and are accountable to us.