Mooirivier RATES DISPUTE - PLEASE DISTRIBUTE AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE

From: Mpofana Ratepayers & Residents Association
[mailto:ratescom@lantic.net]
Sent: 12 September 2008 05:30

RATES DISPUTE
It has come to our attention that the municipality has sent out letters
to residents who have declared a dispute wherein they state, inter alia,
the following:-

1. The dispute claimed is illegal and invalid, and,
2. Warns that the Municipality has elected to sue the
residents of the Mpofana Municipality, who have elected to raise the
said disputes, due to their failure to pay their rates.
We view this action as illegal on the part of the municipality and have
already consulted with our attorneys and believe that the letter is
aimed at intimidating those residents who have declared a dispute. We
urge all residents not to be intimidated by the illegal actions of a
desperate municipality. It is clear that the dispute action by the MRRA
and The Mooi River Farmers Association has made the municipality
desperate and they are therefore resorting to illegal and intimadatory
tactics.
We have drawn their attention to the provisions of the various pieces of
Municipal legislation that encourage and oblige the Municipality to
engage the public and promote public participation. By ignoring the
residents needs and concerns the Municipality continues to cause further
hardship in the community.
Each individual letter of dispute has been handed to the Municipality;
accordingly the Municipality is now under a statutory obligation and
duty to resolve every one of these disputes with each ratepayer
concerned. The Municipality is obliged to investigate every dispute and
then communicate its findings to the residents concerned. However as an
association, we have been appointed to act for and on behalf of the
residents and as a result, the Municipality is ordered to communicate
directly with us and we will respond for and on behalf of the residents.
Until every dispute has been resolved, the Municipality is precluded
from handing over any of its residents in terms of the act.
We have drawn the Municipality's attention to the said provisions of the
act and should the municipality not adhere to the provisions of the act
and unlawfully proceed to handover the ratepayers, who have elected to
exercise their Constitutional rights as contained in our Constitution,
this will be brought to the attention of the Magistrate concerned and an
appropriate order as to costs will be sought against the Municipality.
We also highlighted the fact the rates accounts issued by the
municipality do not comply with Section 27 of the Municipal Property
Rates Act (Act 6 of 2004) and are therefore invalid/illegal.
We further pointed out that the letter of demand is defective as it does
not comply with the provisions of the Municipality's Credit Policy and
fails to comply with the National Credit Act, 2005.
As an association we will continue with our dispute until a satisfactory
solution is reached. We once again urge all residents to support the
action of their respective associations i.e. the MRRA and the Mooi River
Farmers Association and not to be intimated by the municipalities
illegal and desperate actions.
For any further information please do not hesitate to contact me or any
of the following members. Trevor Diener (082 824 4505); Johan Albertyn
(082 450 4282); John Zelenka (082 864 0955) or Sayed Kazi (082 497
8604)

Your sincerely

Hayden Soobramoney
Chairman
Mpofana Ratepayers & Residents Association
Phone : 083 485 1583
Fax : 086 550 1379
Email : ratescom@lantic.net

_____

Executive Committee: H.Soobramoney (Chairman); T. Diener
(Vice-Chairman); J.Albertyn; N.Coetsee; N.Ahmed; C.Cornelius; J.Zelenka;
S. Winckworth;
R. Mackenzie; N. Kerr; SMI Kazi; K Denysschen; F. Swindon; V. Zaca