Municipal Structures Amendment Bill: voting

LOCAL GOVERNMENT SELECT COMMITTEE
2 October 2000
MUNICIPAL STRUCTURES BILL; MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS BILL: VOTING

Relevant Documents:
Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill [B51B - 2000]
Proposed Amendments: Clause 11 (see Appendix 1)

SUMMARY
The Committee made a technical amendment that will authorise municipalities to impose and claim a regional services levy. This had been done originally but was inadvertently overlooked in the process of working on the Bill. This oversight has now been corrected with the passing of the amendment.
Chairperson Bhabha also responded that they had been told nothing about when the Local Elections would be held.

MINUTES
Mr Bhabha, Chairperson of the Local Government Select Committee, stated a new amendment was needed to the Municipal Structures Act.

Adv Fanie Louw, a lawyer for the Department, explained that the amendment would authorise a district or metropolitan municipality to impose and claim a regional services levy. Section 84(1)(b) of the Municipal Structures Act says the power to collect levies must be assigned. This amendment, therefore, is the national legislation that authorises municipalities to claim levies. It is only a technical amendment.

Discussion
Ms. Botha (DP, Free State): Why was this not done earlier?

Adv Louw: It was done originally, but fell away in the process and has just been noticed now. It was inadvertently skipped. Its significance is technical.

Member: Will the Bill be re-drafted?

Chair: No, there will be no separate Bill.

Mr Ackermann (NNP, Western Cape): Do you know when the municipal elections will be?

Chair: We have been told nothing and are also waiting for the election date to be announced.

Ms Botha (DP, Free State): Will there be other amendments?

Chair: I am a politician, not an astrologer.

Adv Louw; Just to remind everyone, the elections will have to be held within 90 days of 1 November 2000. So we're OK so long as they are held before the end of January 2001.

The Committee unanimously voted in the agreement. There were no abstentions.

Appendix One:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT: MUNICIPAL STRUCTURES AMENDMENT BILL
[B 51B-2000]

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
CLAUSE 11
That on page 12, after line 15, to add the following subsection:

(6) A district municipality or a metropolitan municipality may levy and claim a regional services levy and a regional establishment levy referred to in section 12(1)(a) of the Regional Services Councils Act, 1985, or section 16(1)(a) of the KwaZulu and Natal Joint Services Act, 1990.".