Cape Town – The City has taken a no-nonsense approach to Sea Point residents who have been participating in a rates boycott by cutting off their water and deducting outstanding rates from prepaid electricity purchases.
Residents under the banner of the Concerned Residents of Atlantic Seaboard, co-ordinated by Sea Point resident Paul Jacobson, have slammed the City for what they call “ruthless and insensitive”.
“Without due notification, they have stopped the supply of water to certain homes. They have deducted monies owed on rates from prepaid electricity,” said Jacobson. He said residents were not only struggling to keep up with the rates, but were faced with increases.
“No matter the circumstances, whether one has been affected by the hardships of lockdown or withholding rates purposely until they supply the services, the City has been ruthless, insensitive and unreasonable.
“They have still affected a 4% increase in rates, even though property values have plummeted. They have still affected a 6% increase in salaries for certain City officials, knowing that most industries have taken serious wage cuts.”
It’s been a month since a number of residents decided to embark on a rates boycott by withholding 50% of their property rates payments. They have accused the City of neglecting the area and delivering poor services.The decision by residents was made at a meeting last month. In minutes of the meeting, which the Cape Argus has seen, they slammed the City for its unwillingness and/or inability to stem the flow of homeless people, vagrants, aggressive begging, crime, illegal parking attendants on the Atlantic Seaboard and its failure to enforce its own by-laws in relation to public nuisance, dumping and litter.
The residents have been on a partial rates boycott since August.
They said they would withhold 50% of their rates for as long as the failures and breaches of duty by the City continued.
Resident Lance Cohen, who has participated in the boycott, said the City had cut off the water to one of the homes he had been renting out to a tenant.
“One of the issues I had a problem with is how the City conducted its property valuations. Because to me it seems that they have thumb-sucked and increased the property values between 25%-75%.
“Now you have a situation where the City is cutting off water and taking money from prepaid electricity and their backs are against the walls because they need to make up money.”
Another resident, Aubrey Miller, said he had received letters from the council warning him they would cut his water. “It’s indicative of the DA and its upsetting,” he said.
The City’s chief financial officer Kevin Jacoby said: “The City’s Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy is implemented across the board and all due process is followed, including various warnings. We are at the coalface of our communities and we witness the impact of the dire South African economic situation on our residents and businesses.”
Jacoby said there was no legal basis for rates to be withheld.
Cape Argus