INSTEAD of encouraging entrepreneurship and development as an alternative to failing large industry, the City of uMhlatuze recently adopted a policy which will in effect prohibit new developers and small businessmen from participating in the economy.
The policy demands staggering levies on the use of existing roads.
Yet, brothel owners, shady massage parlours, crack kitchens, dagga dens and other criminal ventures operate freely in municipal areas without any intervention, disruption or notice from council or police, let alone payment demands for their share of the road.
The closing down or downscaling of several major economic role players has left many residents hanging by their fingertips on the abyss of debt and poverty.
Many of them can make a living and even employ others by converting their homes into work spaces to start up a small business.
Home industries which can easily trade from residential areas with minor nuisance to neighbours, such as hair and beauty salons, catering, accountancy services, fitness classes and tutoring, will now be required to apply for rezoning and in addition, pay council shockingly high amounts for the use of existing roads.
The ‘Policy for Engineering Service Contributions for Roads and Stormwater’ adopted and enforced by council, works on a sliding scale which is seemingly more of a ridiculous thumb suck than a fair tariff based on what the actual traffic impact of the business will be.
While education, for example. is in a crisis with critical shortages of schools, home schooling provides the only other solution for hundreds of children who could not be enrolled for next year because there are physically no space in classrooms.
Home schooling
In addition, home schooling creates employment opportunities for teachers, administrative staff and domestic and garden services, to name but a few.
However, if a school with 30 children must pay an upfront levy of R200 000 (excluding rezoning application fees), higher rates, rent or bond and infrastructure, the owner will be providing an unaffordable service or run at an enormous loss.
The developer of low cost housing is required to build his own infrastructure, pay council millions for a handful of feathers and to add insult to injury, carry ownership over to them with a 12 month guarantee on workmanship.
By the time council demands have been settled, the ‘low cost housing unit’ will have to be sold for the price of a mansion just to break even.
If council is permitted to adopt the policy and enforce it against all costs, no matter how unreasonable, embarrassingly short-sighted and downright ridiculous it is, they might as well adopt a policy that homeowners will from now on have to pay R1 000 for every garbage bin they empty.
Legitimate businessmen with the means to create employment and economic growth, will no doubt take their investments elsewhere, at tremendous loss for the local economy.
Yet, the ‘drug rehabilitation centre’ operating as a front for organised crime activities, are merrily taking deposits from client, while the developer of a proposed mental health institute, which the city by the way desperately needs, must fork out R800 000 up front.
The sum total of this policy will eventually be that every legitimate developer who wants to do things according to the book, will be driven out while criminals and shady dealers will continue to flourish in the poor and unstable economy.
Those who actually manage to scrape together the cash, will provide services which no-one will be able to afford and eventually close down.
If the aim is to bankrupt the city, stop development, bleed citizens dry and mollycoddle organised crime, this policy will succeed.
