City of Cape Town urges ratepayers to look at their entire account

By Rhodé Marshall
01 August 2007

The City of Cape Town says that the implementation of the Municipal Property Rates Act of 2004 has caused the council to no longer recover some of the refuse removal and sanitation costs that is based on the municipal valuation of the properties.

Therefore some of those costs had to be added to the rates, causing the new rates accounts to show increase higher than ratepayers may have expected.

“People should not just look at their valuation but also look at the Total Municipal Account (TMA) as there are some benefits that have been taken away,” says the Manager of the City’s Debt department Trevor Blake.

“Some of the high increases are caused by huge water consumption and if this can be managed, those accounts will become more affordable,” says Blake.

He added that if the account still has increased after looking at the account then the city would be sensitive to the situation.

“Residents who cannot afford the TMA increases should visit any of City Finance’s contact centres to make arrangements to pay at least the rates based on the valuation,” says Blake.