Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

AfriForum to go to court to stop the implementation of Tshwane Metro’s city cleansing levy

Soundbite: Deidré Steffens (English)

Soundbite: Deidré Steffens (Afrikaans)

Civil rights organisation AfriForum will take the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality to court to have the implementation of the new city cleaning levy approved at last week’s council meeting reviewed. Additionally, the organisation will file an urgent court application for an interim interdict to prevent the implementation of this levy on 1 July while its review application against the council resolution approving the levy is pending. This step follows the metro’s failure to respond to AfriForum’s request for a review of the levy’s suspension on Friday.

The monthly levy, amounting to approximately R200 per month, will be levied on all properties that do not currently use the metro’s refuse removal service from 1 July.

On Tuesday (3 June), AfriForum, through its legal team, requested the metro to undertake by Friday (6 June) that the implementation of the levy would be postponed pending the formulation of an alternative agreement or, if this cannot be done, until the legal proceedings in this regard have been concluded. The metro, apart from their lawyers’ acknowledgement of receipt of the attorney’s letter, did not provide any further feedback.

According to Deidré Steffens, AfriForum’s Advisor for Local Government Affairs, AfriForum did everything in its power to avoid a legal dispute from the outset. “We approached the metro shortly after the council announced the plans for the levy in March this year and stressed that implementing it would result in an unfair double tax. We gave the metro the opportunity to rectify the matter, but now – due to the metro’s failure to respond – we have no choice but to approach the court to have the decision reviewed,” says Steffens.

“The levy is presented as a so-called service-related fee. However, it is in reality an additional tax that owners must pay on top of the existing property tax that is used to finance non-revenue-generating services, such as street and neighbourhood cleaning,” she adds.

AfriForum argues that the levy is not based on the level of usage as required by Section 74(2)(b) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act. The organisation further points out that the levy unfairly targets residents and businesses who do not make use of the municipal refuse collection service due to the metro’s inefficient service delivery.

Arno Roodt, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Greater Pretoria South, maintains that the metro wants to punish residents for its inability to balance the city’s budget. “Rather than addressing the underlying causes of budget deficits, the metro is simply shifting the burden onto taxpayers – especially those who do not make use of the metro’s inefficient service. These people already stump up expensive property tax and pay for private service providers. The metro now seeks to increase the financial burden on taxpayers. AfriForum has submitted numerous proposals to the metro, suggesting ways to generate additional revenue based on actual usage, but the metro has turned a deaf ear to this.”