The Makhado Municipality urged the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association (SRPA) this week to seriously reconsider their boycott action against the municipality.

This was in reaction to the Constitutional Court’s recent judgement in the Olga Rademan vs Moqhaka Municipality’s case. The Zoutpansberger reported on the judgement last week, with reference to the SRPA’s on-going process of withholding certain components of their monthly municipal rates and taxes as part of their dispute with the Makhado Municipality. Mention was also made of the interpretation of Mr Jaap Kelder, chairman of the National Rate Payers Union, of the judgement.

In a press release issued by the office of the municipal manager, the Makhado Municipality invites consumers, residents and ratepayers of the Makhado Municipality to make an effort and read the judgment for themselves.  The judgment is available on the Constitutional Court’s website, namely www.constitutionalcourt.org.za or click here to download the pdf.

“The crux of the matter is stated in Paragraph 30 - 34 and 41 - 42 of the judgment, where the Court analysed Section 102 of the Municipal Systems Act and stated that Section 102, as well as the municipal by-laws (Moqhaka Local Municipality), provide for the consolidation of the consumers’ accounts.  The Makhado Municipality does have similar by-laws,” the municipality says. They go on to explain that once a municipal account has been consolidated, it is one account without different components, such as an electricity component, a refuse-removal component and components for rates and taxes .

“By paying the various components of the accounts but not the rates and taxes component, the consumer places him/herself in default and the Makhado Municipality will be entitled to terminate electricity and/or water supply to the consumer’s premises.

“In paragraph 39 of the judgment, the Court states that when the municipality has consolidated a resident’s account for various services, the resident’s account becomes one consumer account and the resident is obliged to pay the whole consolidated account.  If the resident pays for one of the components of the account and not for others, he/she contravenes the municipality’s conditions of payment and this entitles the municipality to terminate the resident's electricity supply,” the municipality states. They add that it is therefore clear that a resident cannot dictate which components of his or her account he or she wants to pay.

“If the resident fails to pay the whole consolidated account, it entitles the municipality to terminate electricity or other services to the resident’s premises and to proceed with the Credit Control and Debt Collection By-laws,” the municipality said. In this regard, the municipality expresses the hope that the SRPA and its members will seriously reconsider their boycott action and pay their arrear accounts to “prevent any unnecessary legal action and the termination of services to their premises”.