23 February 2004

By Karen Pretorius

THE National Assembly has passed the municipal Property Rates Bill, which is set to regulate the power of municipalities to impose rates on properties.

Minister for Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi described the legislation as an instrument to assist municipalities with local economic development.

The minister said communities, public representatives and municipal managers should discuss the implementation of the Bill.

He said the drafters of this Bill were acutely sensitive to the fact that municipalities had differently sized rates bases and differed from each other in their administrative capacity to raise revenue due to them.

The Property Rates Bill will bring about a new property rates system. It allows municipalities to extend the levying of rates to properties that have been partially or completely excluded from rates. These include public entities, farmers, religious, welfare and charity organisations, independent schools and conservation bodies.

Yunus Carrim, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Provincial and Local Government, asked for an intensive campaign to raise awareness of the bill, saying the department and the South African Local Government Association should undertake this.

He said the bill did not prescribe that property rates be levied on traditional authority areas. "Each municipality must decide itself on this, but it may be difficult to levy property rates on communal areas unless it is registered in the name of an individual," he said.

Carrim explained that owners were not liable for rates if properties were less than R15 000 in value. Land reform beneficiaries are also excluded from property rates for 10 years, after which municipalities must phase in rates over three years.

"The new property rates system has to be phased in appropriately in consultation with a range of stakeholders," he said. The bill will be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.
- BuaNews