Brace yourself for an eight percent rates hike
"However, perusing the draft budget - page 24 - there is no revenue noted for the grazing tender. The revenue is depicted as zero. Is this a mistake or as another arrangement been made?
Endumeni residents can brace themselves for an 8% rates hike when the Council passes the new budget tomorrow. An attempt by ward 2 councillor, Anthon Raubenheimer, to tweak back the increase to 6% was thwarted when no senior heads of department bothered to attend his ward 2 committee meeting this week.
Mr Raubenheimer was hoping to receive a report back from previous objections on plans to spend R800 000 on a new mayoral vehicle and other luxuries including R4000 for a new office chair for an official.
He said if the new mayoral car was dropped, Council would be able to peg the increase back to 6% which is more in line with the inflation rate,
However, a union meeting on Tuesday meant that most officials were away and the building closed and all other senior officials were said to be previously occupied. FC Bester, of the Endumeni Residents Association, who was at the meeting said it was unacceptable and spending R800 000 on a new car in a town which was ‘basically run by actors is unthinkable’.
“We get no answers, no feedback. They just expect us to pay. We spend R80 000 a month on a suspended municipal manager, are paying nearly R400 000 on legal fees and now this. Clearly, the budget should be rejected.”
Mr Raubenheimer was also concerned that after a long delay, the grazing tender on the municipal commonage had been finally awarded for an amount of R600 000 per annum. “However, perusing the draft budget – page 24 – there is no revenue noted for the grazing tender. The revenue is depicted as zero. Is this a mistake or as another arrangement been made?” With no senior officials present, the question remained unanswered.
Committee members also wanted to know what progress the independent auditing committee had made in stemming the R1-million loss in illegal electricity connections. Again, there were no answers.
Despite these setbacks, Mr Raubenheimer believes that he will be able to have another meeting with officials where, these concerns would be ventilated – even if it means that the budget will not be passed tomorrow.
