Bo-Kaap property rates bound by law
WITH reference to your editorial of June 15, 2018 it is important to bear the following in mind before rushing to conclusions about the City’s involvement in matters relating to property rates in the Bo-Kaap.
Your editorial states that: “through exorbitant rates that the City is imposing on Bo-Kaap residents, they are forcing many working-class residents and pensioners to sell their ancestral homes to greedy capitalist developers who plan to replace these homes with high-rise buildings”.
This statement is both misleading and inaccurate. The City is bound by national legislation, namely the Municipal Property Rates Act of 2004 which states implicitly that a municipality must levy rates on all rateable property. It further states that a municipality may include three categories when determining this. These include the use of the property, the permitted use of the property or the geographical area in which the property is situated, except for residential areas where only one rate can be applied across the whole city. The City simply cannot make special exemptions for any rateable properties in the Bo-Kaap. This can only happen if national government agreed to amend this act to make special allowances for historically disadvantaged areas such as the Bo-Kaap.
As ward councillor for the area, I will be writing to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to ask if this amendment can be considered, taking into account the unique history of the Bo-Kaap.
The City has done its best to ensure those who are unable to afford to pay their property rates can apply for indigent relief and rates rebates. This provides a degree of cover for pensioners and families with a low household income. I have set up and manned sessions in the Bo-Kaap where this process was facilitated with members of the community.
Taking the above into account, it is disingenuous to suggest the City is somehow actively involved in a campaign to drive historical residents out of the Bo-Kaap in favour of developers.
Nothing can be further from the truth. The Bo-Kaap is currently covered by a degree of architectural heritage protection and I am working hard to expedite the rollout of the Heritage Protection Overlay Zone initiated by my predecessor, Cllr Dave Bryant. I will continue to work to preserve the culture and heritage of the Bo-Kaap at all costs and remain willing to engage on any issue at any stage.