Cape Town ratepayers fume over City’s fixed levies on top of their usual bills

[noxibox]

There will always be decay, but the rate of it varies. Durban city centre was fine back in my childhood - as was Cape Town; but Cape Town is still decent nowadays...can't say the same for Durban at all.

Decay is inevitable. That's why maintenance is needed. It only becomes truly rundown if maintenance never happens.

 

[nightjar]

But what are the residents fuming for?

At a time when many Cape Town residents are struggling to survive with reduced or no income the Council rapes them like this.

 

[xrapidx]

Solar levy? Knew that would happen - surprised there isn't a borehole/wellpoint levy - or dog licence levy yet - considering they want those registered as well.

Can't wait for the city "holding your hand" levy.

 

[thechamp]

Solar levy? Knew that would happen - surprised there isn't a borehole/wellpoint levy - or dog licence levy yet - considering they want those registered as well.

Can't wait for the city "holding your hand" levy.

But isn't that only for those who are feeding back into the grid?

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

those with solar power, a small-scale embedded-generation (SSEG) tariff (for customers with grid-tied feed-in SSEG systems, such as solar PV)

"register with the city" they said
"won't be used for levies" they said

 

[thechamp]

At a time when many Cape Town residents are struggling to survive with reduced or no income the Council rapes them like this.
View attachment 942511

There must be a reasonable explanation for that.

 

[Matt91]

Durbanite here, stepped outside and can currently confirm; tis a shithole. Thank you.

 

[requiem]

Those salaries are crazy

 

[Currantly]

The funny thing is that Stop COCT scored an own goal when they opposed the drought levy. They converted a temporary fee into a permanent charge.

The 'drought levy' was always gonna morph into the permanent 'pipe levy'. The only difference was in the arbitrary way in which both of them are calculated.

Regardless if the administration is mostly appropriately using whatever money they get, then there isn't much point demanding fees be reduced, because the money has to come from somewhere.

Where did it come from before? My rates (+levies) has in total gone up by, probably 200% in the last few years. Aside from being unsustainable, you have to ask yourself: how did the CoCT manage with such an apparently 'relatively low' income in the past?

If a significant proportion of what gets paid is going to an ever-growing number of poor people gravitating to the city, then you need a solution to that problem.

Are you proposing that my rates increases are some kinda ultimate "solution to that problem"?

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

But isn't that only for those who are feeding back into the grid?

that's even worse imo

grid-tied and feeding back into the grid benefits the city much more than it benefits the people providing them with cheap power, they should be getting paid, not paying tariffs after already paying to build the infrastructure

if the city wants to pay less for that power, they can drop the per-unit price they pay
same as if they want to charge more for services, go wild, but it must be usage based only, no fixed fees

now they're just taxing everyone a bit more to subsidise the non-payers & excessive users which is BS, not to mention the pure theft that is property tax

 

[thechamp]

that's even worse imo

grid-tied and feeding back into the grid benefits the city much more than it benefits the people providing them with cheap power, they should be getting paid, not paying tariffs after already paying to build the infrastructure

if the city wants to pay less for that power, they can drop the per-unit price they pay
same as if they want to charge more for services, go wild, but it must be usage based only, no fixed fees

now they're just taxing everyone a bit more to subsidise the non-payers & excessive users which is BS, not to mention the pure theft that is property tax

I don't know all the details that are associated with the grid tied system as applied in Cape Town so I wouldn't know if the tax is reasonable or not, I was just clarifying that it's only for grid tied systems feeding into the grid and not for everyone with solar.

 

[supersunbird]

Those salaries are crazy

Now you have to ask, what are the other metros same positions being paid for less or no service delivery, now that's even more crazy.

 

[access]

What money is already set aside for maintenance? The money for maintaining the water and electricity infrastructure was typically part of the price charged for those. When people cut down the amount available for maintenance goes down. In the case of electricity Eskom are the real problem. They're the ones that drove supply down and prices up.

The funny thing is that Stop COCT scored an own goal when they opposed the drought levy. They converted a temporary fee into a permanent charge.

Regardless if the administration is mostly appropriately using whatever money they get, then there isn't much point demanding fees be reduced, because the money has to come from somewhere. If a significant proportion of what gets paid is going to an ever-growing number of poor people gravitating to the city, then you need a solution to that problem.

so then what you are saying is, because the dams where empty, everyone had to cut down usage thus reducing the cut towards maintenance.

but now, the dams are overflowing, usage must go back up and the cut towards maintenance with it.

remove the levy. when it was implemented most people said it will not be removed and it was promised it would.

claiming global warming and the unpredictability of the weather as reasons to keep the levy as stated by the da, is ridiculous. these problems are not new and is part reason for building dams and planning of water supply etc.. to claim it is going towards creating solutions for the possibility of a similar drought in the future, but then using it to pay the bills of the ever growing number of poor people is also a load of nonsense and dishonest, especially when it was shown how these areas continued to waste water during the drought crises. why would someone care for preserving something if they just keep getting more for nothing.


keeping these things in place motivates people to use their own water more, driving municipal water usage down further.

 

[mercurial]

At a time when many Cape Town residents are struggling to survive with reduced or no income the Council rapes them like this.
View attachment 942511

These are the poephols people whose salaries must be cut + no wage increases, not the average public servant.

 

[Hamster]

Was in Cape Town last week for business.... was very impressed at how well run, clean and organised the city was. No sign of any trash, roads are painted and well maintained. Visible policing in many places, shopping and tourism was booming. In comparison Durban and Joburg are dirty $h!tholes. So my advice to Capetonians is... enjoy it.

This. I'm here for the week and I'll happily pay extra levies to live in a city like this as opposed to Joburg/Sandton.

 

[Agent_Smith]

Wasn't there talk a couple of months ago about a fun tax? Or was that on a national level...

 

[zolly]

If you were working class as most of the complainers seem to be, I'd be unhappy, but not because of the City putting in a flat rate to maintain infrastructure, but because I'm so poor I can barely afford anything. And then I wouldn't be bleak with the City itself as I would understand that regardless of the infrastructure being used, it has to be maintained at some level. Really I'd be pissed at the ANC for driving us into the sh*tter.

Thankfully I am managing as a middle class citizen (for now) who works for overseas companies so I can sidestep a lot of the local problems.

As someone who moved from KZN to Cape Town, I ain't ever going back. The area my parents live in barely has roads anymore because the municipality is robbing them blind. If I do ever move out of Cape Town, it'll be on a plane out of the country.

 

[signates]

Solar levy? Knew that would happen - surprised there isn't a borehole/wellpoint levy - or dog licence levy yet - considering they want those registered as well.

Can't wait for the city "holding your hand" levy.

But isn't that only for those who are feeding back into the grid?

This is from powerforum for last month.

This user is feeding in 3 times more than what he is taking from CoCT before breaking even which makes it uneconomical to feed in.

 

[thechamp]

This is from powerforum for last month.

This user is feeding in 3 times more than what he is taking from CoCT before breaking even which makes it uneconomical to feed in. View attachment 942595

So can't you just stop feeding in and save yourself the trouble?

 

[Vrotappel]

I am pretty sure CoJ beats them with certain fixed charges.