Tshwane accused of defying court order on cleansing levy
DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink has accused the City of Tshwane of continuing to charge residents and businesses cleansing levy despite a court order against it.
Image: Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers
The City of Tshwane is facing criticism for allegedly continuing to charge residents and businesses a monthly cleansing levy of R194, despite a Gauteng High Court ruling that invalidated it.
The court also denied the city's request for leave to appeal, but Tshwane recently claimed it was considering its legal options.
DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink has called on the city to reverse the implementation of the levy, citing complaints from residents who were charged for August.
"The city has not lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court of Appeal, and even if it does so, at the time the August bills were issued, no appeal was pending," he said.
According to him, the city's actions are in direct violation of a court order.
"We call on the City of Tshwane to reverse these charges and give the public an explanation," Brink said.
The DA has urged affected residents to lodge disputes on their municipal bills, citing the court judgment.
"This month, the Tshwane metro ignored the order of the Gauteng High Court and charged residents for a city cleansing levy, which has been set aside as unlawful. What is more, previous charges that the municipality had reversed in terms of the court have been added back to municipal bills," Brink said.
The controversy surrounding the levy began when AfriForum took the city to court, arguing that the levy was a case of double taxation and unfairly targeted those who opt for private waste collection services.
The court ruled in AfriForum's favour, scrapping the R194 monthly cleansing levy for properties using private waste collectors.
Last month, the city lost its High Court bid to appeal against the July 31 ruling, which overturned the cleansing levy.
The affected residents and businesses have been outraged over the levy, arguing it is double taxation that unfairly penalises those who choose private waste collection services.
Recently, the city has one month to appeal the judgment, and municipal spokesperson Selby Bokaba said Tshwane will consult with senior legal counsel to determine the next steps.
AfriForum has given the city an ultimatum to accept the ruling and plan their budget according to legislation or risk putting the metro's finances under pressure by appealing to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The court's ruling criticised the city's true motive behind the levy, stating that it was an attempt to unlawfully boost its revenue by around R540 million annually.
The city has yet to confirm whether it has ceased issuing monthly bills to residents and businesses or if it has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court of Appeal.