In the article ‘Resident struggles to get answers from CoE’ in the Advertiser’s April 1 edition, it was reported how Geduld resident Shannon Groenewald had been waiting for over a year to get an answer from the City of Ekurhuleni regarding charges to her property.
In 2019, Groenewald was shocked when she received her municipal account, which was triple the amount she usually pays.
When she queried it with the CoE, she was told the municipality would now be charging per erf the property is on and not per property.
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According to CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini, charging per erf is not a new policy, but rather the correct implementation of the existing CoE’s tariff structure.
“Assessment rates are charged as a whole on the notarial tied stands, except for basic charges of which are to be raised separately per erf, irrespective of the notarial tie status.
“Basic charges are not new charges as it was part of CoE’s tariff structure, one can say it was not implemented correctly as it was omitted in error previously,” said Dlamini.
When asked when residents were informed about this, Dlamini said consumers are made aware of the tariffs annually and these basic charges have been included in the tariff structure ever since.
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For those who have a fixed income and whose property is built across three erfs, Dlamini advised that those properties be consolidated to avoid the basic charges being levied to the accounts.
Dlamini also denied that other areas within the CoE used the parent/child method of valuations when dealing with the situation where two or more stands are registered in the name of the same owner.
These basic charges, as well as assessment rates, also apply to vacant stand where there is a water and sewer connection available but is not being used.
The spokesperson said all revenue collected goes towards the upkeeping of the City.
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