Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Amendment Bill [B33B-2013]

The Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs invites you to submit written comments on the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Amendment Bill [B33B-2013].

The Bill seeks to:
▪ Amend the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, 2004, so as to
provide for the amendment and insertion of certain definitions;
▪ delete the provision dealing with district management areas;
▪ provide that a rates policy must determine criteria for not only the increase but also for the decrease of rates;
▪ provide that a professional associated valuer may be appointed to the valuation board if a professional valuer cannot be appointed;
▪ provide for transitional arrangements in respect of municipalities that have been affected by a redetermination of municipal boundaries;
▪ provide for transitional arrangements for the implementation of section 8 and,

The Committee intends considering and finalizing the Bill at Parliament of the Republic of South Africa on Tuesday, 18 March 2013.

Comments can be emailed to Mr Moses Manele at [email protected] by no later than Monday; 17 March 2013 at 16:00.

Enquiries can be directed to Mr Moses Manele on tel (021) 403 3823 or cell 083 709 8534.

Issued by Mr H M Mokgobi, MP, Chairperson of the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs


Background
Since the first four municipalities began valuing and rating in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act (''the Act''), on 1 July 2006, municipal practitioners have grappled with the reality of operationalising a piece of legislation that has largely been theoretical since its effective date of 2 July 2005 and became less so as the implementation of its regulatory framework unfolded over the years. Taking into account lessons learnt from the 27 municipalities that implemented the Act in 2006 and 2007, the Act was amended through the Local Government Laws Amendments Act, 2008. Having regard to the experience gained with the additional municipalities that implemented the Act from 2008, it has become clear that these lessons learnt from the monitoring of implementation necessitate that the Act be amended yet again to render its implementation more seamless and minimise legal and policy misinterpretations that have arisen. In addition, certain key policy amendments are proposed and such proposed amendments are informed by lessons learnt from implementing the regulatory framework of the Act, and continuous engaging with key stakeholders, including individual and organised ratepayers, and practitioners on the challenges encountered with the implementation of the Act over the years in the first phase of its implementation.