Tshwane cleansing levy 'unfair double tax on residents', AfriForum
Civil rights organisation AfriForum says the implementation of the new city cleaning levy would result in an 'unfair double tax on residents'.
The lobby group is set to take the Tshwane Municipality to court to challenge the implementation of the new city cleaning levy.
The Tshwane council, which passed its annual budget for the 2025/2026 financial year last month, included the introduction of an additional monthly charge to residents using private waste collection services.
Cleaning levy
A monthly levy of approximately R200 is expected to be imposed on all properties that do not currently utilise the metro's refuse removal service, effective 1 July.
ALSO READ: Proposed cleaning levy sparks legal challenge in Tshwane
Last week, AfriForum, through its legal team, requested the metro to halt the levy pending the formulation of an alternative agreement or until the legal proceedings are concluded.
Legal action
AfriForum's advisor for local government affairs, Deidré Steffens, said they want the new city cleaning levy reviewed.
'We approached the metro shortly after the council announced the plans for the levy in March this year and stressed that implementing it would result in an unfair double tax. We gave the metro the opportunity to rectify the matter, but now, due to the metro's failure to respond, we have no choice but to approach the court to have the decision reviewed.
'The levy is presented as a so-called service-related fee. However, it is in reality an additional tax that owners must pay on top of the existing property tax that is used to finance non-revenue-generating services, such as street and neighbourhood cleaning,' Steffens said.
'Punishing residents'
AfriForum argues that the levy is not based on the level of usage as required by Section 74(2)(b) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act.
The organisation further points out that the levy unfairly targets residents and businesses that do not use the municipal refuse collection service due to the metro's inefficient service delivery.
AfriForum's district coordinator for Pretoria South, Arno Roodt, maintains that the metro wants to 'punish residents for its inability to balance the city's budget.
'Rather than addressing the underlying causes of budget deficits, the metro is simply shifting the burden onto taxpayers, especially those who do not make use of the metro's inefficient service'.
Roodt added that AfriForum has submitted numerous proposals to the metro, suggesting ways to generate additional revenue based on actual usage, 'but the metro has turned a deaf ear to this.'
NOW READ: Pretoria High Court plunged into darkness after power outage
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