Tax boycott gains steam as residents withhold rates from ailing eThekwini (Durban) metro

• The eThekwini Rate Protest Movement is withholding taxes of R1.2 million.
• The movement launched a legal battle against the metro amid a dispute about high tariffs.
• The metro versus ratepayers' matter has been set for 1 November.

Fed-up ratepayers from the dysfunctional eThekwini metro are withholding R1.2 million in rates and taxes in an unprecedented pushback against high tariff hikes.

The Westville Ratepayers' Association (WRA) fanned the smouldering flame in angry residents, who are desperate to hold the City to account. They are withholding rates and taxes, and depositing the money into a holding bank account, which has five signatories.

Other ratepayers associations, who face similar struggles in their respective wards and municipalities, have asked to join the rate protest, according to leaders of the campaign.

At least 20 other local organisations have since joined the boycott, which is now known as the eThekwini Rate Protest Movement.

The genesis of the boycott lies in the WRA's lodging of a Section 102 dispute with the metro over tariff hikes which, residents aver in court, had a "non-compliant" public participation process.

READ | Durban revolts: Civic groups launch eThekwini rates boycott in what the city calls a 'mob mentality'

The dispute was lodged against the backdrop of the municipality's failure to recover unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, worth R427 million, in the 2021/2022 financial year, and a R50 billion loss over five years.

Earlier this year, the eThekwini council announced a sharp electricity tariff increase of 21.91%, which was roundly rejected. The mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, backtracked amid the outrage, and brought it down to 18.94%.

However, it was still slightly higher than the nationally loathed 18.49% approved by National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa). 

The mayor is on record as saying the proposed increase was "aligned" with Nersa's announcement.

The spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal ANC, Mafika Mndebele, told News24 the boycotts were "illegal" and "will have consequences".

Mndebele said: 

We encourage our people to raise the concerns they have with the municipality - and the municipality to work speedily to resolve them.

A phone call between Kaunda and the irate ratepayers achieved nothing in terms of finding one another on Friday night, according to the chairperson of the WRA, Asad Gaffar.

Instead, ratepayers continued receiving letters of demand, which threatened legal action.

According to Gaffar, Kaunda said he couldn't discuss the matter because it was "sub judice". 

In an affidavit annexed to the WRA's application, which was deposed by Gaffar on behalf of the residents, he asked the court to interdict the municipality from implementing any of its debt and credit control measures against the applicants in the notice of motion, while the Section 102 dispute continued.

The Section 102 regimen provides for declaring a dispute about amounts that a person doesn't agree with.  

Speaking to News24, Gaffar said the movement was snowballing into a bigger cause, especially in light of the Sunday Times' report which cited a Treasury document as raising the alarm about the government's intractable spending of public funds. 

He said as of Monday, they had withheld R1.2 million meant to be paid into the City's coffers.

Gaffar said: 

A whole lot of money came through at the weekend. Because we withheld last month, the City is putting a notice in our utility bills which is saying we need to settle within 14 days or they will disconnect us or institute credit control measures.

He said that, should the City disconnect any resident in the dispute, they would escalate the legal matter from an ordinary court roll to an urgent one. 

"What we're doing, we're hoping the whole country does this. We need to save our country. What's going to happen when our country fails?" said Gaffar.

He said they were in talks with other associations and would be meeting them this week.

Asked specifically about the eThekwini boycott, the City referred News24 to a statement that highlighted the relationship between the City and the Umhlanga Residents Association, which isn't a participant in the movement. 

"Regarding water tariffs, Mayor Kaunda said [in the meeting with Umhlanga Residents Association] the increase in water tariffs were necessitated by the decision to build the new Umkhomazi Dam to improve water supply in the City," the statement said.

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One of the organisations impressed by efforts at holding the powers-that-be accountable is the Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers and Civics [MARRC], which is feeling the consequences of misgovernance under the ANC-led municipality.

The chairperson of MARRC, Anthony Waldhausen, said they spoke to the eThekwini Rate Protest Movement to get a "better understanding of what they were doing and the purpose of the boycott" because they faced similar problems in Pietermaritzburg. 

One of the issues was the municipality's unilateral introduction of a "multiple billing cycle", which saw authorities arbitrarily bill residents on the 15th of every month.

Residents are frustrated about the new system and say officials have failed to explain it.

Contacted by News24 for an explanation, the municipal manager, Lulama Mapholoba, said it referred to "different dates for different categories of ratepayers".

Waldhausen said: "People don't have money to pay on the 15th. Residents face a dilemma. The issue hadn't been processed by council and there was no public participation."

Msunduzi residents, in June, detailed their issues with the municipality in a complaint to the Public Protector's office. 

They are now raising funds for legal action against the City, almost in similar fashion to the eThekwini residents.