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News - Date: 24 July 2009
Last week Zoutpansberger reported on the confusion surrounding municipal accounts with respect to rates and taxes.
Louis Trichardt residents were confused because some account holders received their new rates assessments months after other residents, leading them to conclude that the municipality was implementing the new system in phases, something which many consider unfair.
Makhado municipal spokesperson, Mr Louis Bobodi, this week provided some answers to the questions put to him in this regard.
Bobodi indicated that the reason for the different implementation dates stems from the fact that the valuation roll was imported manually, which explains why some residents received their assessments months after others. He said it simply took some time to enter all the figures. Bobodi also indicated that the whole roll has now been imported, which means that all residents should henceforth be taxed accordingly. The next step is to implement it for Tshikota and the remaining R293 towns and villages.
Regarding the question of whether the current lower house prices might exert an influence on the valuator’s roll, Bobodi indicated that the valuator’s roll is calculated according to properties’ market value and is revised every four years. The influence of market fluctuations will therefore only be applicable in 2012, when the new roll will be determined. By then, the current slump will probably have become history.
Another question put to Bobodi dealt with the dispute declared by the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association with the Makhado Municipality and the extent to which the municipality has addressed the problems on which the dispute is based. Bobodi indicated that “there is no dispute acknowledged by the municipality from the ratepayers, as that has been indicated that the municipality will apply the Credit Control and Debt Collection policy in ensuring that all monies owed to the municipality are collected. A meeting between the municipality and the rate payers association will be set in order to address the outstanding queries.”
In terms of improving service delivery, Bobodi indicated that streets are being renovated and through MIG (municipal infrastructure grant) funding, more will be done to improve service delivery. Exactly what this entails, is not clear.
Lastly, the matter of the appointment of a new municipal manager was raised. According to Bobodi, the post has been advertised and the appointment will be made before the end of the year.
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