Latest news with #EugeneModise
Eyewitness News
6 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Tshwane says revenue generated from new cleansing levy will go towards fixing landfill sites
JOHANNESBURG - The Tshwane Municipality said revenue generated from its new tariff, the city cleansing levy, will go towards fixing its dysfunctional landfill sites. On Thursday, the Tshwane council passed its annual budget for the 2025 / 2026 financial year. The budget includes the R194 a month city cleansing levy that will be charged to customers using private waste collection services. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has criticised the new tariff, saying the city is double-charging over-burdened ratepayers since private waste collectors also pay landfill site fees. However, MMC for Finance Eugene Modise said the current administration is trying to fix issues it inherited from previous DA-led coalition governments. 'We as this executive, went to conduct oversight in all our landfill sites and there is none that have got a lifespan of more than three years as we speak. There is a moratorium that says we cannot apply for landfill sites. All of them, the weighbridges are not functional. Who was in power? What did they do? So, we are going to make sure the landfill sites are fully functional and access controlled.'
Eyewitness News
29-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Tshwane Municipality council passes 2025/26 budget, new tariffs & rates to kick in from July
JOHANNESBURG - The Tshwane Municipality council has passed its budget for the 2025/26 financial year. This is the first annual budget passed by the African National Congress (ANC)-led multiparty coalition since it was formed last October. The Tshwane council met on Thursday for a vote on the budget. Tshwane Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana announced the results of the budget vote in council on Thursday. "Honourable councillors, the City of Tshwane 2025/26 budget has now been passed, with 113 councillors in favour." The budget will introduce a new city cleansing levy of R194 a month. The levy is targeted at properties that use private waste collection services. Finance MMC Eugene Modise said that proceeds from the levy would be used to revitalise the capital's deteriorating landfill sites. "All of them, the weighbridges are not functional. Who was in power, what did they do? So, we are going to make sure the landfill sites are fully functional." The new tariffs and rates take effect from 1 July.
Eyewitness News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Tshwane loses 34% of its water, 22% of power supply through illegal connections at hijacked buildings
JOHANNESBURG - Tshwane Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise said that the city lost 34% of its water and 22% of electricity supply through illegal connections at hijacked buildings. Modise spoke during a visit to some of the buildings in Pretoria West on Thursday, where city officials sought to ensure that residents who were instructed to evacuate had done so. Thursday's efforts fell under Operation Reclaim the City, which was introduced in April during the State of the City Address by Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya. The programme was introduced to address among others, by-law violations, regulation compliance and cleaning up the city. Modise said: "In terms of water, its 34%, electcity and the major contributory is those ones that are occupying illegally, so what we were doing today is to assess buildings belonging to the city."
The Citizen
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Debt relief deadline looms
With just 10 days remaining, the Tshwane metro has urged residents and businesses to take advantage of its Debt Relief and Incentive Scheme before the final deadline on May 31. This initiative, championed by Deputy Mayor and MMC for Finance, Eugene Modise, is designed to ease the financial burden of municipal debt and provide residents with a clean slate. The scheme has seen a strong engagement across Tshwane since its inception, with more than 19 853 amnesty application forms submitted. Among these, 5 069 applications specifically target electricity debt relief, which is a pressing issue that continues to impact households and businesses across the metro. 'We are encouraged by the response so far, but we want to remind those who have not yet applied that the window is closing fast. Time is of the essence,' said Modise. Modise said one of the best outcomes of the initiative has been the writing off of R1.84-billion in debt from 31 540 inactive accounts. He said these are accounts no longer reflect active consumption but have long-standing arrears, which placed a heavy strain on the metro's finances. By removing this debt from its books, the municipality not only improves its financial outlook but also demonstrates a commitment to restoring financial stability for its constituents. In addition to the inactive accounts, the metro confirmed that 460 residential accounts and 19 business accounts have been successfully approved for the debt relief option. This has resulted in R76.54-million in affected debt and R26.5-million officially written off. Modise said the metro's programme has also made strides in helping indigent households. 'We have written off R2.42-billion from indigent accounts.' The May 31 deadline is the last chance for residents and business owners to submit their applications. The process allows individuals to enter into payment agreements or apply for full or partial relief, depending on their financial situation. 'This reflects our unwavering commitment to social responsibility. 'We are dedicated to ensuring equitable access to essential services for all residents of Tshwane.' Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Proposed cleaning levy sparks legal challenge in Tshwane
AfriForum is challenging Tshwane's proposed R200 city cleaning levy, calling it unconstitutional and unfair. Tshwane Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise poses for a photograph at Tshwane House, 20 November 2024, following an interview with The Citizen. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen AfriForum has started legal action against the City of Tshwane to obtain clarification on the implementation of the proposed environmental, or city cleaning levy announced in the budget speech. Last week, the deputy mayor, MMC of finance Eugene Modise, announced the city's plans to implement the levy of approximately R200 per month from 1 July for all properties without a municipal waste account. AfriForum's local government affairs advisor Deidré Steffens said they submitted a request to obtain clarification on the city's plans regarding the levy in April, but received no reply. AfriForum submit to request clarification on levy plan 'On 24 April, AfriForum submitted its comments on the city's draft medium-term revenue and expenditure framework (MTREF) in which the levy was announced. 'Our legal team has made it clear that the draft MTREF containing details of the proposed levy contains material contradictions and gives excessive discretionary power to the municipal manager in the application of the levy. This creates unacceptable scope for abuse and arbitrary application,' she said. ALSO READ: Tshwane's R54.6bn budget draws mixed reactions According to Steffens, the implementation of the proposed levy would be contrary to Section 74(2) of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act, which requires that tariffs reflect the actual use of services and be applied fairly. Steffens said although the constitution required municipalities to promote the social and economic development of communities in their budgeting processes, this was not the case with the implementation of the levy. 'A non-revenue-generating service, such as a cleansing levy, is traditionally financed by property rates and if the city were to proceed with the proposed implementation of this levy, it would amount to double taxation. Cleansing levy traditionally financed by property rates 'It is unacceptable that a service that should be funded by property taxes is now being repackaged as a new levy, presumably to cover the metro's budget deficits. 'This is a blatant attempt to milk more revenue from already overtaxed residents,' she said. ALSO READ: Millions needed to fix Tshwane sinkholes AfriForum was prepared to approach the court if the city failed to provide the information by the deadline, Steffens said. Republican Conference of Tshwane councillor Lex Middelberg said the levy was a reintroduction of a similar city cleaning levy that was introduced in the 2017-8 MTREF but then abandoned. 'This cleaning levy is unconstitutional. The city conceded this and abandoned the cleaning levy in later MTREFs after the issue was raised by the Tshwane Money Matters Caucus in November 2017 with your predecessor in office at the time, with the minister of finance, the AGSA and the MEC for local government,' he said. Not a tariff for services rendered Middelberg said the cleaning levy was not a tariff for services rendered, but by its own definition an arbitrary tax raised on persons who do not consume the service. 'The cleaning levy is not raised to render a service, but to bulk up the city's coffers with additional revenue to be applied for other purposes than to clean the city,' he said. ALSO READ: Tshwane mayor faces outrage for Weskoppies Hospital power cut Tshwane's DA spokesperson for finance Jacqui Uys said they were also against the levies. Uys said the current waste collection in the city could cost residents up to 10% of their salaries. 'Instead of assisting poor households who cannot afford almost R500 per month for waste removal, the ANC-led City of Tshwane has opted to introduce a punitive tax of almost R200 on these households if they choose not to use the city's services,' she said. DA raises concerns 'The DA has also raised concerns about the newly introduced waste levy in the draft budget.' Uys said the intention of the new levy was not to ensure a cleaner city, but rather the introduction of yet another tax to use the residents of Tshwane as a stopgap to improve the city's financial position. NOW READ: Tshwane mayor under fire for downplaying pothole crisis
