Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Werner Pretorius MPL and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Kabelo Moreeng. See attached pictures here and here.
The DA has asked National Treasury to investigate Mangaung’s sharp property-rates increases. We want these increases reviewed because they are at levels that residents and businesses cannot afford.
The DA’s review of more than 22,000 residential properties indicates that the rates increase for a typical property is around 24%. For families already struggling to cover food, electricity and transport, this adds to the already high cost of living and means less money for everyday essentials.
The ANC-run municipality is guilty of a deceptive sleight of hand: it has lowered the residential rates tariff slightly, but it has also increased property valuations, the values used to calculate what owners pay. A lower tariff offers little comfort when a higher valuation means that a bigger bill arrives at the end of the month.
Residents raised the alarm before the budget was adopted. The DA submitted a petition recording 775 responses about unaffordable charges and other concerns. Apart from acknowledging receipt, the municipality has not answered it. Residents deserve answers, and their concerns must influence decisions that affect their pockets.
Businesses are also under pressure, with a property-rates tariff roughly 3.4 times the residential tariff; it is now more expensive to keep businesses open, putting local jobs and investment at risk. This is how the ANC kills jobs in Mangaung.
We want Treasury to investigate whether Mangaung properly checked what these increases would mean for households and businesses before approving them. The municipality must control its spending and fix services instead of relying on bigger bills to cover its failures.
Our demand is simple: affordable, fair, evidence-based rates, working services and a municipality that takes responsibility for its finances. Mangaung residents cannot be expected to keep paying more for poor services and leadership failure.