The Tshwane Metro has pledged to refund all residents wrongly charged with the controversial R194 cleansing levy, following a High Court ruling that forces the metro to stop billing households that use private waste collectors.

The court affirmed its earlier July decision, which set aside the levy after a successful challenge by AfriForum, and ruled that its order must take immediate effect.

According to the metro, they respect the outcome and have already begun reversing the charges. However, opposition parties claim this commitment comes far too late, after months of unnecessary financial pressure placed on residents.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the metro will comply fully with the November 18 ruling and cease charging the levy on all accounts that do not rely on municipal waste services.

“The process of reversing and crediting affected accounts is already underway, and teams have been instructed to ensure full compliance,” he said.

According to Mashigo, the levy was introduced to ensure fairness between households that use municipal waste removal and those who use private services.

He said, however, the judgment now represents a setback for the metro’s efforts to recover the costs of keeping Pretoria clean.

Mashigo added that the metro remains committed to responsible financial management, respect for the courts and ongoing communication with affected ratepayers.

“We thank all residents for their patience as the metro works to stabilise operations and protect long-term service delivery.”

However, several political parties say the metro’s assurances are not enough to repair the damage done.

Opposition leaders argue that the metro must immediately stop all credit control measures connected to the levy, including automated SMS warnings, threats of legal action, and service cuts.

Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) spokesperson Grandi Theunissen said the metro has ignored warnings for months.

“We submitted a motion in September calling for the metro to stop charging what the court had already described as an illegal and unconstitutional levy.

“The motion also requested an investigation into officials responsible for pushing ahead with the levy and into the legal fees incurred by the city’s continued attempts to appeal the matter.”

However, Theunissen said the motion was delayed due to a public holiday and later rejected by the Speaker on the basis that the matter was sub judice.

He explained that this allowed the city to continue a harmful billing process that has placed countless families under pressure.

Theunissen also accused the metro of misusing its authority by enforcing credit controls even while the levy was under legal dispute.

“Some residents on prepaid electricity were unable to buy power because levy charges were automatically deducted before the purchase could go through.”

He described this as a form of theft, warning that more damage may still be uncovered if the Supreme Court of Appeal eventually rules against the city.

According to Theunissen, the metro also admitted to making large-scale invoicing errors, including double-billing complexes and incorrectly charging thousands of households.

He said this inflated the city’s revenue by hundreds of millions of rand, artificially supporting claims that the metro’s budget is funded.

“If this revenue is removed, the budget may collapse, and the city could face further financial instability,” he said.

He warned that the metro may be using residents to cover the cost of the recent R2-billion wage increases awarded to staff, despite earlier findings by the Labour Court that the metro could not afford such increases.

The DA echoed these concerns. Mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said the metro must stop all credit control and legal action on accounts containing the levy until every dispute is resolved.

He said residents should not be threatened with disconnections or pressured into paying charges the court has temporarily halted.

“The metro’s appeals and ongoing administrative errors have placed residents in a confusing and unfair position,” said Brink.

He said suspending credit control does not mean residents should stop paying legitimate bills, but it protects them from being forced to pay debts they do not owe.

Brink criticised the governing coalition of the ANC, EFF, and ActionSA for approving costly measures without properly calculating long-term financial impacts and for expecting residents to pay the price.

“The coalition has shown a pattern of spending money on behalf of residents while using billing pressure to cover gaps in the city’s finances.”

Despite the strong political backlash, the metro insists it is committed to legal compliance and financial accountability.

LEVY SAGA: 

• High Court orders immediate stop to controversial cleansing levy charges
• Tshwane cleansing levy corrections to reflect on October municipal statements
• Petition launched to oppose Tshwane’s cleaning levy

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