The Pretoria high court on Thursday declared that the imposition of the cleansing levy by the City of Tshwane is unlawful, invalid and set it aside.
AfriForum brought the urgent application to set aside the metro’s decision to impose the new mandatory monthly levy of R194.37 (excluding VAT) on about 260,000 households and businesses in the metro.
AfriForum had argued that the levy amounted to illegal and unfair double taxation, especially in cases where residents did not benefit from the metro’s refuse removal service and were using private service providers.
“The court today ordered the metro to ensure that all municipal accounts on which the city cleaning levy has already been levied are credited in the next billing cycle with the amount equal to the amount levied for it,” AfriForum said in a statement.
In addition, the court said the metro must also take the necessary steps to ensure that residents and businesses were not further charged for the levy.
“The ruling is an important victory in the interests of residents and businesses who have been unfairly affected by the implementation of this levy. It is a clear confirmation of what AfriForum has been saying about this levy from the outset, namely that the Tshwane metro’s introduction of the levy is illegal and arbitrary,” said Deidré Steffens, AfriForum’s adviser for local government affairs.
During last week’s court proceedings, the metro attempted to defend the levy, arguing it was justifiable considering its 2016 tariff policy.
“However, the metro’s legal team was unable to present this policy to the court and even admitted that they were unable to locate the document. The court considered this administrative shortcoming to be serious,” AfriForum said.
Arno Roodt, AfriForum’s district co-ordinator for Greater Pretoria South, said the implementation of the levy was nothing more than a fundraising ploy aimed at covering up years of poor planning and mismanagement.
“The court’s decision sends a clear message that municipalities must also obey the law and that communities are ready to fight injustice and illegal actions,” said Roodt.
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