Ekurhuleni’s nightmare Property Valuation Roll lays bare ANC’s failures

by Cllr Fana Nkosi — DA Shadow MMC for Finance in Ekurhuleni

Date: 06 October 2021

Release: Immediate

Type: Media Statement

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has not stopped holding the ANC and its coalition partners to account for the disastrous Property Valuation Roll.

As the DA, we have been working closely with the residents affected by the valuation roll and have been pressuring the failing ANC-led CoE to act swiftly to resolve objections submitted.

The DA has launched an enquiry into how this highly flawed valuation roll was compiled; as it is not a true reflection of property values.

Working closely with our communities, we submitted an urgent motion to Council requesting the City Manager to extend the current valuation roll for 12 months, in order to investigate the anomalies and issues with the new valuation roll.

In addition, we petitioned the City Manager to allow for online objections and we are awaiting feedback.

Our fight for the rights of residents has not stopped there! We cannot allow residents and property owners to be taken advantage of. We will be approaching the Public Protector’s Office to investigate this matter.

While this is underway, we are encouraging residents who have lodged an objection in terms of Section 51 of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act and who are not satisfied with the decision of the municipal valuer, to further lodge an appeal to the appeal’s board.

This should be done by submitting the appeal form (available online) to the City Manager, at the Ekurhuleni Head Office, 5 Queen Street, Germiston. Alternatively, a Residential Appeal form can be accessed and submitted electronically at:

http://valuations.ekurhuleni.gov.za:9002/ResidentialObjectionsAppeals/Create

To ensure that the appeal is done in the prescribed manner, property owners are encouraged to:

- Lodge an objector (appeal) within 30 days after the date of which the written notification of the outcome of the objection was sent to the owner.

Once the appeal is lodged with the City Manager, the City Manager must forward any appeal to the Chairperson of the Appeal Board within 14 days after the applicable period. Emanating from this, the Chairperson of the Appeal Board must convene an Appeal Board meeting within 60 days of receiving an appeal to consider the matter.

As the DA, we acknowledge that this is a lengthy process, however, we strongly encourage all property owners affected by the Property Valuation Roll to exercise their rights.

It is also crucial to note that an appeal lodged, does not defer a person’s liability for payment of rates. Irate ratepayers have approached us indicating that they have received disconnection notices, despite lodging objections with the municipality. We strongly encourage these residents to make payment arrangements at their designated Customer Care Centre (CCC), in order to avoid being disconnected.

The DA has walked this journey with property owners and we will continue to challenge this highly flawed process. The DA is the only party that can bring meaningful change to the City of Ekurhuleni. We will continue to fight for the residents, businesses and communities.

With the upcoming local municipal elections, we encourage all residents to exercise their right to vote and vote for a party that gets things done. Vote DA on 1 November.

#Time4Change

*ANC Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr Fana Nkosi

DA Shadow MMC for Finance in Ekurhuleni