Case Law[2025] ZAKZDHC 34South Africa
Westville Ratepayers Association v Ethekwini Municipality and Another (D5773/2023) [2025] ZAKZDHC 34 (13 May 2025)
Headnotes
by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Liebenberg NO and Others v Bergrivier Municipality All SA 626 SCA and upheld by the Constitutional Court in Liebenberg NO and Others v Bergrivier Municipality 2013 (5) SA 246 (CC), given the transitional arrangements of the MPRA, being sections 88 and 89, read with s 179 of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 56 of 2003 ("the MFMA"):
Judgment
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## Westville Ratepayers Association v Ethekwini Municipality and Another (D5773/2023) [2025] ZAKZDHC 34 (13 May 2025)
Westville Ratepayers Association v Ethekwini Municipality and Another (D5773/2023) [2025] ZAKZDHC 34 (13 May 2025)
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sino date 13 May 2025
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
KWAZULU-NATAL
LOCAL DIVISION, DURBAN
Case
No: D5773/2023
In
the matter between:
WESTVILLE
RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION
Applicant
and
ETHEKWINI
MUNICIPALITY
First Respondent
MEMBER
OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL:
Second Respondent
KWAZULU-NATAL
DEPARTMENT OF
CO-OPERATIVE
GOVERNANCE AND
TRADITIONAL
AFFAIRS
ORDER
The
application is dismissed with each party to bear its own costs.
JUDGMENT
Kuzwayo
AJ
Introduction
[1]
The applicant, Westville Ratepayers Association, is seeking a
declaratory order against
the first respondent that the municipal
property rates and taxes that it imposed for the financial years
2004/2005; 2005/2006;
2006/2007; 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, were levied
unlawfully in that it failed to comply with the provisions of the
Local Government:
Municipal Property Rates Act,
[1]
("the MPRA") and that all rates and taxes so levied were
not due and payable to the first respondent.
[2]
In terms of the notice of motion, the applicant also sought an order
declaring that
in future, the first respondent complies with the
provisions of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act,
[2]
("the Systems Act"); Local Government Municipal Finance
Management Act,
[3]
("the
MFMA") and the MPRA, when levying municipal property rates.
However, this order was abandoned by the applicant
at the
commencement of the hearing.
[3]
The second respondent was cited as an interested party. Hence, he did
not participate
in the proceedings. For the sake of convenience, I
shall refer to the first respondent as "the Municipality".
Background
[4]
The applicant is an independent ratepayers association for Westville
and surrounding
areas, including Lamontville, Chesterville, Bonella
and Sherwood, watching over the interests of ratepayers within its
areas.
[5]
The applicant's contention is that the Municipality has, over the
past years (between
2005 and 2009), failed to promulgate the levying
of rates as required by legislation. The applicant took the view that
the Municipality
was failing to maintain the municipal area and to
conduct itself in a fair, reasonable and transparent manner regarding
service
delivery. As a result, it caused an investigation to be
undertaken by Johan and Marianne Visser of JM Corporate Services who,
after
their investigation, filed a report dated 21 December 2022
("the investigation report").
[6]
The findings of the investigation report were that the Municipality
resolutions for
levying rates during the financial years of
2005/2006; 2006/2007; 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, were not published in
the KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Gazette in accordance with s 14(2)(a) of
the MPRA. Based on the findings, the applicant engaged in
negotiations with
the Municipality (the details of which were not
fully particularised), which did not materialise.
[7]
Prompted by the findings of the investigation, the applicant lodged
this application
for an order declaring the levies that were imposed
during the abovementioned periods were unlawful and not due and
payable to
the Municipality on the basis that the Council resolutions
for the said periods were not promulgated in the Provincial Gazette
as required by the MPRA. The applicant also placed reliance on the
engagements it has had (through its attorneys of record) with
the
Municipality since 14 April 2023.
[4]
In these engagements, the applicant sought the Municipality to
correct its failures based on the conclusions of the investigation
report.
[8]
The Municipality opposed the application. It pleaded that it was only
required to
comply with the provisions of the MFMA or the Local
Government Transition Act
[5]
("the Transition Act") and it was not obliged to comply
with s 14 of the MPRA. It maintained that the procedures that
it
adopted had constituted compliance.
[9]
In its answering affidavit, the Municipality conceded that for the
financial years
2005/2006 to 2008/2009, it did not publish the
Council resolutions in the Provincial Gazette because, in terms of
the applicable
statutory framework, it was not obliged to publish
same.
[6]
The Municipality
responded to the allegation as follows:
'19. As was correctly
held by the Supreme Court of Appeal in
Liebenberg NO and Others v
Bergrivier Municipality All SA 626 SCA
and upheld by the
Constitutional Court in
Liebenberg NO and Others v Bergrivier
Municipality
2013 (5) SA 246
(CC)
, given the transitional
arrangements of the MPRA, being sections 88 and 89, read with s 179
of the Local Government: Municipal
Finance Management Act, 56 of 2003
("the MFMA"):
19.1
Section 10(G)(7) of the Local Government Transition Act 903 of 1994
("the Transition Act");
19.2
Chapter 4 of the MFMA; and
19.3
The Old Ordinances,
regulated the levying of
rates from the commencement of the Acts in question and after the
commencement of the MPRA.'
[10]
It appears that the applicant was overwhelmed by the Municipality's
defence and resultantly accepted,
in its replying affidavit and
argument, that the Municipality was not obliged to perform in terms
of s 14 of the MPRA in the promulgation
of rates during the relevant
five-year period. The applicant further accepted that:
(a)
the Municipality was bound by s 10G(7) of the Transition Act (which
it regarded as the core
of the argument) and the Old Ordinances; and
(b)
the MFMA regulated and continues to regulate the budget allocation
process to which the
Municipality and the public are bound.
[11]
However, the applicant contended that the processes provided for in
the aforementioned legislation
regulated rates valuations and not the
issue of rates promulgations which is the subject of the dispute. The
applicant reiterated
that in terms of s 10G(7) of the Transition Act,
the Municipality is obliged to publish rates and calculations and
submitted that
none of the provisions of this section were complied
with and the Municipality did not address the issue of the
publication of
the resolutions.
Issues
[12]
The core issues for determination are the following:
(a)
whether the applicant is entitled to the order it is seeking in terms
of the draft order
which is different from the order that was sought
in the notice of motion;
(b)
whether the Municipality was required to and did comply with all
relevant legislation in
promulgating rates for the years 2005 to
2009; and
(c)
whether the rates so levied were unlawful and not due to the
Municipality.
[13]
The applicant also raised the following issues for determination:
(a)
whether the Municipality enjoyed a right of election in choosing the
empowering legislation
to use in publishing its rates determinations
as well as the source of that right;
(b)
whether the election was exercised, by whom and through what means in
each of the financial
years;
(c)
whether the Municipality discharged the onus in establishing the
requisite compliance;
(d)
the striking out of paragraphs 12, 13, 60 and 61 of the answering
affidavit; and
(e)
if the conclusion on the matter is not in favour of the Municipality,
what remedy should
be granted.
Submissions
made by the parties
[14]
It is the applicant's contention that for the financial years from
2005 to 2009, the Municipality
had failed to promulgate the Council
resolutions in the Provincial Gazette as required by legislation. The
initial averments by
the applicant were based on the MPRA, as
reflected in the investigation report. Ms
Mahabeer SC
, for the
applicant, argued that the process for promulgating rates involved
the valuation of rates for each year and a budget allocation
process
which would lead to the determination of rates. The promulgations of
rates, so she argued, was regulated by the Transition
Act and the
Ordinance, not by the MFMA or the Systems Act.
[15]
The Municipality did not dispute that it was obliged to comply with
legislation in implementing
municipal rates but contended that it was
not obliged to publish the annual municipal rates determinations in
terms of the MPRA.
Ms
Nicholson
, for the Municipality,
submitted that the MFMA and the Transition Act were the applicable
legislation. As a result, municipalities
were not required to comply
with both of them. Accordingly, the Municipality had opted to utilise
and comply with the MFMA.
[16]
In paragraphs 36 to 38 of the answering affidavit, the Municipality
stated that its Council resolutions
were lawfully promulgated for the
years 2005 to 2009 and it had complied with the relevant provisions
of the MFMA. In support of
its averment, the Municipality attached to
the answering affidavit its Council minutes dated 26 May 2004.
According to the minutes,
the Second Report of the Executive
Committee was laid on the table. The report indicates that it was
resolved "
that the recommendations of the Executive
Committee, relative to the Draft Estimates for the year ended
2005-06-30, contained in
the Second Report of the Executive Committee
dated 2004-05-25, be APPROVED
."
[17]
Ms
Mahabeer
argued that despite the Municipality having
pleaded that it had complied with the applicable legislation when
promulgating rates,
it had failed to disclose information and
documents to substantiate its averment and show that it published
notices and advertisements
of the promulgations, as required by law.
She contended that the Municipality conflated the community
participation in rates valuations
and the annual budgets allocation
(which are regulated under the MFMA) with the process of implementing
the rates determinations
in terms of the Transition Act and the
Ordinances.
[18]
In response, Ms
Nicholson
submitted that the failure of the
Municipality to disclose the information required by the applicant
was due to the dispute dating
back more than a decade. As a result,
documents containing such information were no longer available. She
also submitted that the
applicant had the onus of proving its case
and the Municipality only had a duty to reply to the facts laid out
in the founding
affidavit.
The
applicable legal principles
[19]
Section 229 of the Constitution empowers municipalities to impose
rates on property.
[7]
This
section also provides that the powers of municipalities to levy rates
may be regulated by national legislation.
[8]
[20]
In
Uniqon
Wonings v City of Tshwane
,
[9]
the Supreme Court of Appeal ("the SCA") articulated the
power of municipalities to levy rates on properties as follows:
'[10] The power of
municipalities to impose property rates is derived from s 229 of the
Constitution and from legislation. In terms
of this section,
municipalities have direct original legislative capacity. Section
229(1 )(a) of the Constitution provides that
a municipality may
impose "(a) rates on property and surcharges on fees for
services provided by or on behalf of the municipality".
In terms
of subsection (b), it may if authorised by national legislation,
impose "other taxes, levies, and duties appropriate
to local
government". Section 229(2)(b) provides that the power of
municipalities to impose rates may be regulated by national
legislation.' (Footnote omitted.)
[21]
Section 10G(7)(a)(i) of the Transition Act gave the Municipality's
Council power to 'levy and
recover property rates in respect of
immovable property' within its area of jurisdiction in terms of a
common rating system. A
municipality is empowered, by resolution, to
impose levies, fees, taxes and tariffs in respect of any function or
service of the
municipality.
[10]
Section 10G(7)(c) imposes a duty on the chief executive officer to
display a notice after a resolution is passed. Such notice is
to be
displayed at the offices of the municipality as well as other places
within the area of jurisdiction of the municipality
as may be
determined by the chief executive officer stating:
'(i)
the general purport of the resolution;
(ii)
the date on which the determination or amendment shall come into
operation;
(iii)
the date on which the notice is first displayed; and
(iv)
that any person who desires to object to such determination or
amendment shall do so in
writing within 14 days after the date on
which the notice is first displayed.'
[22]
It is worth mentioning that the Transition Act was repealed by
s 36
of the
Local Government Laws Amendment Act 19 of 2008
.
[11]
However,
s 179(2)
of the provides that: 'Despite the repeal of
section 10G of the Local Government Transition Act, 1993 (Act 209 of
1993), by subsection
(1) of this section, the provisions contained in
subsections (6), (6A) and (7) of section 10G remain in force until
the legislation
envisaged in section 229 (2) (b) of the Constitution
is enacted.'
Analysis
[23]
The core issues to be determined in this matter are identical to the
primary issues that had
to be determined by the SCA in
Uniqon
Wonings
which was whether a municipality was obliged, to determine property
rates annually and whether such rates automatically lapsed
at the end
of the financial year during which it was levied.
[12]
The similarity in the issues raised in this case and in
Uniqon
Wonings
is that:
(a)
the applicant took issue with the Municipality's failure to
promulgate levies raised for
the same four financial years (2005/2006
to 2008/2009); and
(b)
the applicant is requesting a declaration that the Municipality
failed to comply with all
relevant legislation in respect of those
years.
Considering
the exclusion of the 2004/2005 financial year, I presume that the
Municipality had complied with the legislation in
that period.
[24]
The questions are therefore whether the Municipality was required to
promulgate levies in each
financial year after the 2004/2005
financial year and whether it was required to comply with 'all'
relevant legislation. Should
these questions be answered in the
affirmative, I will proceed with all the other issues and in the
event that they are in the
negative, it would be the end of the
matter. However, the remaining issues will be analysed for the sake
of finality. Before dealing
with these two questions, it is necessary
to first address the issue of the amended order that is sought by the
applicant and the
investigation report which forms the basis of this
application.
Should
the court consider the applicant's amended relief sought (which is
different from the notice of motion)?
[25]
The Municipality raised issue with the draft order that was attached
to the applicant's heads
of argument. Ms
Nicholson
submitted that the only issue that was raised by the applicant in the
notice of motion and founding affidavit was that the promulgation
of
rates by the Municipality for the period from 2005 to 2009 was not
published in the Provincial Gazette in accordance with s
14 of the
MPRA. She argued that the applicant was bound by its founding papers
and could not introduce new issues in reply and
referred this court
to the case of
Swissborough
Diamond Mines (Pty) Ltd v Government of the Republic of South Africa
and Others
[13]
where the court stated that the affidavits in motion proceedings do
not only serve to place evidence before the court, but also
to define
issues.
[26]
Ms
Nicholson
further argued that for the amended draft order
that was attached to the applicant's heads of argument to be
accepted, the applicant
should have applied for an amendment in terms
of Uniform rule 28.
[27]
I do not see the need to deal with the applicant's submissions in
this regard as it is common
cause that the applicant submitted an
amended order whereby paragraph 1 of the notice of motion in terms
which it had requested
the court to declare that the municipal
property rates and taxes imposed by the Municipality for the
financial years 2005/2006;
2006/2007; 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 were
levied unlawfully in that the Municipality "
failed to comply
with the provisions the
Local Government: Municipal Property Rates
Act, 2004
" was amended to read that the Municipality "
failed
to comply with the provisions of all relevant legislation
".
[28]
I fully agree with the submissions made by the Municipality's counsel
in this regard. However,
in my view, the issue of which legislation
the Municipality was bound to comply with was fully canvassed by the
parties in the
answering and replying affidavits as well as their
arguments. It is apparent that as soon as the Municipality raised
that it was
not obliged to promulgate rates in terms of the MPRA, the
applicant made a concession and shifted its reliance from the MPRA.
[29]
In
Minister
of Police v Gqamane
,
[14]
the SCA stated as follows:
'[13] It is trite that a
party is bound by his or her pleadings and, ordinarily, he or she
will not be allowed to raise a different
or fresh case without a due
amendment. A court is equally bound by those pleadings and should not
pronounce upon any claim or defence
not made in the pleadings by the
parties. A court may relax this rule where the issue involves a
question of law which emerges
fully from the evidence or is apparent
from the papers. This court, in
Minister of Safety and Security v
Slabbert
, held that:
"There are, however,
circumstances in which a party may be allowed to rely on an issue
which was not covered by the pleadings.
This occurs where the issue
in question has been canvassed fully by both sides at the trial."'
(Footnotes omitted.)
[30]
Due to the kind of dispute raised in this matter, despite the
applicant having changed the legislation
it was relying on in its
founding papers, I take the view that the issue deserves to be
considered and interrogated on the basis
of the arguments presented
and canvassed by both parties. This court cannot shy away from the
fact that the Municipality was obliged
to comply with the legislation
that was applicable at the time. In my view, the minutes dated 26 May
2004 does not save the Municipality
as the main issue is the
publishing of the notices in the Provincial Gazette directly. The
minutes only dealt with the tabling
of the Second Report of the
Executive Committee and the approval of its recommendations.
The
investigation report
[31]
It is also common cause that the applicant based its application on
the findings of the investigation
report. The heading of the report
reads:
'REPORT ON MUNICIPAL
PROPERTY RATES ACT NO 6 OF 2004 AND AMENDED ACT OF 2014: COMPLIANCE
AND NON-COMPLIANCE BY ETHEKWINI METRO MUNICIPALITY
INCLUDED THE
FINANCIAL YEARS, FROM 1 JULY 2005 UNTIL 20 JUNE 2022.'
[32]
The following deficiencies can be identified from the investigation
report: the investigation
focused on the two pieces of legislation
mentioned above. It is not clear from the report as to what was done
by JM Corporate Services
in conducting its investigation and how this
was done. No sources of information were disclosed in this regard,
especially since
the investigation was conducted more than ten years
after the Municipality's alleged non-compliance. It is therefore
highly improbable
that at the time of the investigation all the
relevant documents were still available for inspection and
interrogation and this
was never mentioned in the investigation
report. In my view, the investigation report (on which the
application is founded) bears
no merit.
Was
the Municipality required to and did it comply with all relevant
legislation in promulgating rates and did the Municipality
enjoy a
right of election in choosing the empowering legislation to use in
publishing its rates determinations as well as the source
of that
right
[33]
It is common cause that the financial year 2004/2005 was incorporated
into the notice of motion
in error and should be disregarded. It is
also worth mentioning that the applicant is not claiming any
financial recourse. All
that it is seeking is a declaratory order
that the rates that were imposed by the Municipality during the
impugned periods were
unlawful due to its failure to promulgate
rates.
[34]
At the commencement of the proceedings, the applicant's case was that
the Municipality had failed,
in terms of s 14(2) of the MPRA, to
promulgate resolutions levying rates by publishing the resolutions in
the Provincial Gazette.
It contended that the Municipality's failure
to promulgate the resolutions for the rates imposed in the years
2005/2006 to 2008/2009
was therefore fatal to those rates and
rendered them unlawful and invalid. Consequently, those levies were
not due and payable
to the Municipality.
[35]
After the filing of the answering affidavit, the applicant had
correctly conceded, in its replying
affidavit and heads of argument,
that the Municipality was not obliged to comply with the MPRA as
alleged in the founding papers.
In
Liebenberg
NO and Others v Bergrivier Municipality
,
[15]
Mhlantla AJ concluded that s10G(7) of the Transition Act survived the
commencement of the MPRA and thus rejected the argument that
the
Municipality was obliged to comply with s 14(2) of the MPRA.
[36]
As indicated earlier, the Municipality stated that it had adopted the
publication procedures
which were set out in the MFMA, read with
Chapter 4 of the Systems Act, after it came into operation and
contended that in each
of the relevant financial years, it complied
with the relevant provisions of the MFMA and the Local Authorities
Ordinance. It further
contended that its annual budget, which
included the determination of rates, was prepared in accordance with
ss 21 and 17 of the
MFMA and throughout the years in question it had
followed the same process of approving the determination of rates as
part of the
budget until its first General Valuation Roll was
implemented on 1 July 2008. In support of these averments, the
Municipality attached
the Council minutes for the meeting that was
held on 26 May 2004, which recorded the approved budget and
determination of rates
for the 2004/2005 financial year.
[37]
The applicant challenged the Municipality's contentions on the basis
that no documents were provided
to prove that a notice was published
as required in terms of s 10G(7)(c) of the Transition Act and the
Municipality did not indicate
when and how many searches were
conducted to recover the documents. Ms
Mahabeer
submitted that
the applicant had issued a notice in terms of rule 35(12) requesting
the Municipality to provide those documents.
She contended that the
averments contained in the Municipality's response were not addressed
in the answering affidavit and also
submitted that the Municipality
had failed to disclose the process it undertook to give effect to the
requirements and to provide
evidence of how the process took place.
[38]
Counsel for the Municipality contended that the draft budget was
published and the Mayor presented
the budget to the Municipal
Council. She reiterated that the Municipality regarded the MFMA as
the appropriate legislation and
opted to comply with it in its rates
promulgations.
[39]
It is indisputable that, in terms of s 10G(7) of the Transition Act,
once rates are determined,
such determination must be communicated to
the public by publishing it in the Provincial Gazette and displaying
a notice on the
place allocated for that purpose at the offices of
the municipality. In this case, there is no evidence by the applicant
to prove
the Municipality's non-compliance with this provision.
Neither is there evidence by the Municipality to prove its
compliance.
[40]
The answers to all questions posed above are fully provided in
Liebenberg
,
where the applicants had argued that both the MFMA and the Transition
Act should be followed. The Constitutional Court found the
argument
to be fallacious and held that the Municipality was not required to
comply with both statutes at the same time. The court
stated that
Chapter 4 of the MFMA regulated the manner of levying rates from the
date of commencement and the MFMA imposed requirements
that were
inconsistent with the Transition Act. It stated that when such
inconsistency appeared, the provisions of the MFMA prevailed.
[16]
[41]
In
Uniqon
Wonings
[17]
,
the SCA stated that although municipalities were entitled, in terms
of s 10G(7) of the Transition Act, to fix property rates separately
for each financial year, the section did not oblige municipalities to
do so and did not provide that any property rates which had
been
levied during a specific financial year automatically lapsed at the
end of such financial year. The court concluded that a
municipality,
acting in terms of s 10G(7), was not obliged to impose property rates
annually and the levied rate did not lapse
at the end of a financial
year but continued to apply until changed. In the circumstances, if
the Municipality was not required
to comply with all the relevant
legislation and had it complied with the relevant legislation in
imposing property rates for the
2004/2005 financial year, such rates
continued to apply until they were changed. The changing of rates
that were applicable during
2004/2005 was never raised or argued. I
accordingly find that the rates remained unchanged and hence, cannot
be said to have been
unlawful. This court therefore concludes that
the Municipality was obliged to comply with all the relevant
legislation.
Whether
the election was exercised, by whom and through what means in each of
the financial years
[42]
As stated by the SCA in
Liebenberg
, the MFMA regulated the
manner of levying rates. The Municipality contended that it had opted
to comply with the provisions of
the MFMA. This was within its right
and no provisions are provided for in the legislation regarding the
process that the Municipality
was obliged to follow when it chose to
comply with the MFMA.
Whether
the Municipality discharged the onus in establishing the requisite
compliance
[43]
As correctly argued by Ms
Nicholson
, the Municipality had no
onus to establish its compliance. Its failure to provide documentary
proof can be attributed on the number
of years that the applicant had
left the issue of the alleged non-compliance with the promulgation of
rates unchallenged.
Application
for striking out of paragraphs 12, 13, 60 and 61 of the answering
affidavit
[44]
While it is true that the events referred to in the investigation
report took place over a decade
ago, as pleaded by the Municipality,
I agree with the applicant's counsel that the responses that were
provided by the Municipality,
did not deal directly with the
applicant's averments but pointed to a particular individual, Mr Asad
Gaffar. It was never pleaded
by the applicant that JM Corporate
Services was appointed by Gaffar to interrogate the Municipality's
rates processes as asserted
by the Municipality. The said paragraphs
are accordingly struck off. Nevertheless, this does not save the
applicant's case in any
event.
Conclusion
[45]
As indicated above, the applicant did not seek financial redress,
except for the court to declare
that the rates charged during those
years were unlawful and not due to the Municipality. In as much as
the Municipality failed
to attach a copy of the Provincial Gazette to
prove its compliance, it contended that it had complied with the MFMA
and published
the promulgations in the Gazette. This could not be
disputed by the applicant. In fact, both parties failed to place all
the necessary
documents before court. Leaving aside that the
application was based on a meritless investigation report, I disagree
with the applicant
that the Municipality was obliged to comply with
all relevant legislation in promulgating rates. Based on my analysis
above, I
cannot declare that the Municipality failed to comply with
the provisions of all relevant legislation because it was not bound
to comply with 'all' legislation, as held in
Liebenberg
.
Costs
[46]
The applicant requested this court to apply the
Biowatch
principle in respect of costs. This was disputed by the Municipality,
who argued that this principle was not applicable in this
matter. In
my view, this is not a matter which deserves the application of the
Biowatch
principle because both parties have failed (in their
own way) in proving their cases. The applicant failed to prove its
case on
a balance of probabilities that the Municipality was obliged
and failed to comply with all relevant legislation. This court has
concluded that the Municipality was not obliged to comply with all
relevant legislation. On the other hand, in as much as the
Municipality did not have a case to prove, in its defence it was
bound to show that it had complied with MFMA, as pleaded and argued
by it. As a result, I conclude that neither of the parties is
entitled to costs.
Order
[47]
In the circumstances, the application is dismissed with each party to
bear its own costs.
Kuzwayo
AJ
For
the applicant
: Adv. S Mahabeer
SC (with Adv M Z F Suleman)
Instructed
by
: Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa Inc.
For
the respondent
: Adv. J F Nicholson
Instructed
by
: Legator McKenna Incorporated
Date
of hearing
: 10
March 2025
Date
of judgment
: 13 May 2025
[1]
Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act 6 of 2004
.
[2]
Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000
.
[3]
Local Government Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003
.
[4]
Founding affidavit, para 25.
[5]
Local Government Transition Act 209 of 1993
.
[6]
Answering affidavit, para 19.
[7]
Section 229(1) of the Constitution provides: 'Subject to subsections
(2), (3) and (4), a municipality may impose-
(a)
rates on property and surcharges on fees for services provided by or
on behalf of the municipality; and
…
'
[8]
Section 229(2) of the Constitution provides: 'The power of a
municipality to impose rates on property, surcharges on fees for
services provided by or on behalf of the municipality, or other
taxes, levies or duties
(a)
may not be exercised in a way that materially and unreasonably
prejudices national economic policies, economic activities
across
municipal boundaries, or the national mobility of goods, services,
capital or labour; and
(b)
may be regulated by national legislation.'
[9]
Uniqon
Wonings v City of Tshwane
[2014] ZASCA 182.
[10]
Section 10G(7)(a)(ii) of the Transition Act.
[11]
Local Government Laws Amendment Act 19 of 2008
.
[12]
Uniqon
Wonings
above fn 9.
[13]
Swissborough
Diamond Mines (Pty) Ltd v Government of the Republic of South Africa
and Others
1999 (2) SA 279
(T) at 323F-J and 324A.
[14]
Minister
of Police v Gqamane
2023 (2) SACR 427
(SCA).
[15]
Liebenberg
NO and Others v Bergrivier Municipality
[2013] ZACC 16; 2013 (5) SA 246 (CC).
[16]
Ibid para 73.
[17]
Uniqon
Wonings v City of Tshwane
[2014]
ZASCA 182
para 29.
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