Mpumalanga to hold public hearing on Municipal Property Rates Act
16 April 2010
The Mpumalanga Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional
Affairs in partnership with the national Department of Cooperative Governance
and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) will on Monday, 19 April 2010 hold a unique and
interactive public hearing at Nutting House in Nelspruit to obtain peoples’
challenges and views on the current Municipal Property Rates Act 2004 (MPRA)
which is set for a review.
The MPRA makes provision for municipalities to value properties in
their jurisdictions and impose property taxes to fund the provision of public
goods that benefit communities. However, in its current form the act has been
inconsistently applied by municipalities, which has resulted in an inequitable
and inefficient implementation of the MPRA. This has left poor households
vulnerable to unaffordable taxes and has also resulted in the inequitable
treatment of ratepayers in general.
Currently, the exemption of poor or indigent households owned by those
dependent on social grants from rates payment is a municipal decision. This may
result in these households being subjected to paying municipal rates where
municipalities do not make provision for their protection in their rates
policies. In addition, the equitable and fair rating of different property
categories is proving to be difficult to manage. The proposed amendments are
intended to address these and other inconsistencies and provide for a more
equitable, consistent and transparent application of the act.
The aim of this hearing is an attempt to reach out to ordinary rate
payers, rate payers associations, community representatives, farmers, industry,
organised business, mining chambers and owners of public service infrastructure
to solicit their views and inputs on the current act with the objectives of
improving it for the benefit of citizens.
The public hearing will be attended by MEC for Cooperative Governance
and Traditional Affairs Mr Norman Mokoena, MEC for Finance Mrs Pinky Phosa,
executive mayors and municipal managers amongst others.
You are invited to attend the public hearing which is scheduled as follows:
Date: 19 April 2010
Time: 09h00
Venue: Nutting House
Please confirm your attendance on or before, 16 April 2010:
Mary Sibande
Cell: 082 785 9020
Tel: 013 766 6297
For more information contact:
Simphiwe Kunene
Cell: 082 413 3931
Issued by: Mpumalanga Department of Cooperative
Governance and Traditional Affairs
