Latest news with #DeidréSteffens
The Citizen
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Levy court battle far from over
Despite losing in court, Tshwane is pushing back against the decision to set aside its R194 monthly cleaning levy. The fight over the City of Tshwane's cleaning levy is far from over after the city announced it would appeal the ruling. AfriForum's advisor for local government affairs, Deidré Steffens, hailed as a major victory for residents the High Court in Pretoria's ruling on the city's implementation of the cleaning levy as illegal and invalid. 'The levy was also set aside with immediate effect,' said Steffens. Court ruled the cleaning levy illegal 'The civil rights organisation approached the court to set aside the metro's decision to impose a new mandatory monthly levy of R194.37 (excluding VAT) on approximately 260 000 households and businesses within the metro. 'AfriForum argued the levy amounted to illegal and unfair double taxation, especially in cases where residents do not benefit from the metro's refuse removal service and are forced to use private service providers,' she said. ALSO READ: Court rules against City of Tshwane's cleaning levy Steffens said during last week's court proceedings the city attempted to defend the levy, arguing it was justifiable considering the metro's 2016 tariff policy. 'However, the city's legal team was unable to present this policy to the court and even admitted that it was unable to locate the document. The court considered this administrative shortcoming to be serious,' she said. AfriForum district coordinator for Greater Pretoria South Arno Roodt said the implementation of the levy was nothing more than a fundraising ploy aimed at covering up for years of poor planning and mismanagement. Tshwane says it will appeal 'The court's decision sends a clear message that municipalities must also obey the law and that communities are ready to fight injustice,' he said. City of Tshwane MMC for environment and agriculture management Obakeng Ramabodu said the city would appeal the judgment, 'as we remain steadfast in our belief that a cleaning levy aimed at improving the maintenance of our landfills is a step in the right direction and necessary to ensure a safe and clean city for all'. ALSO READ: Proposed cleaning levy sparks legal challenge in Tshwane 'A cleaning levy was introduced in Tshwane between 2016 and 2021 by the erstwhile government, which now claims to take exception to it,' he said. DA Tshwane spokesperson for finance Jacqui Uys in February called on the ANC coalition not to introduce any new taxes. 'Regardless of widespread public outcry, the ANC, EFF and ActionSA pushed forward and adopted a 'funded' budget that relied on the introduction of a city cleaning levy. Tshwane imposed this new levy on all properties that are using private waste contractors to remove their waste,' she said. DA Tshwane call on coalition not to introduce new taxes Uys said that meant properties where there was no service being rendered were being charged extra in Tshwane's efforts to raise over R500 million in new revenue. 'Charging a fee for rendering no services to people who receive private services is daylight robbery,' she said. ALSO READ: Tshwane cleansing levy 'unfair double tax on residents', AfriForum says Republican Conference of Tshwane councillor Lex Middelberg said: 'We'll know soon enough just how much they budgeted for this. At least R500 million by my calculation.' He described the fourth-quarter financial report tabled in council last week as 'utter rubbish'. 'When you dig into it, you find most end-of-year invoices are not captured. But importantly, ratepayers in default are about 25% of the billing. This just serves to underscore the fact that we are on the wrong side of the Laffer curve,' he said. Revenue remained at R40bn for the third year Middelberg said the city's revenue remained at R40 billion for the third year in a row despite a 10% increases in rates and tariffs. 'That means that every year the growing number in default is equal to that 10% increase plus inflation. Something big must change – and soon,' he said. NOW READ: Tshwane cleaning tariff may be challenged in court
TimesLIVE
31-07-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
High court sets aside Tshwane's 'unlawful, invalid' cleansing levy
The Pretoria high court on Thursday declared that the imposition of the cleansing levy by the City of Tshwane is unlawful, invalid and set it aside. AfriForum brought the urgent application to set aside the metro's decision to impose the new mandatory monthly levy of R194.37 (excluding VAT) on about 260,000 households and businesses in the metro. AfriForum had argued that the levy amounted to illegal and unfair double taxation, especially in cases where residents did not benefit from the metro's refuse removal service and were using private service providers. 'The court today ordered the metro to ensure that all municipal accounts on which the city cleaning levy has already been levied are credited in the next billing cycle with the amount equal to the amount levied for it,' AfriForum said in a statement. In addition, the court said the metro must also take the necessary steps to ensure that residents and businesses were not further charged for the levy. 'The ruling is an important victory in the interests of residents and businesses who have been unfairly affected by the implementation of this levy. It is a clear confirmation of what AfriForum has been saying about this levy from the outset, namely that the Tshwane metro's introduction of the levy is illegal and arbitrary,' said Deidré Steffens, AfriForum's adviser for local government affairs. During last week's court proceedings, the metro attempted to defend the levy, arguing it was justifiable considering its 2016 tariff policy. 'However, the metro's legal team was unable to present this policy to the court and even admitted that they were unable to locate the document. The court considered this administrative shortcoming to be serious,' AfriForum said. Arno Roodt, AfriForum's district co-ordinator for Greater Pretoria South, said the implementation of the levy was nothing more than a fundraising ploy aimed at covering up years of poor planning and mismanagement. 'The court's decision sends a clear message that municipalities must also obey the law and that communities are ready to fight injustice and illegal actions,' said Roodt.
The Citizen
09-06-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Tshwane cleansing levy 'unfair double tax on residents', AfriForum
The Tshwane council, which passed its annual budget for the 2025/2026 financial year last month, approved the levy. 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
