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Date
: 19/02/2004
Source: Democratic Alliance
Title: Grobler: Debate on the Property Rates Bill
Madam Speaker.
Many hours were spent on this Bill. If the Chairperson had not been
such a long winded person, we could have saved at least another 50
hours.
On a more serious note Speaker....
This committee gave ample opportunity to all those stake holders
who have an interest in this most difficult and highly technical
Bill to offer their inputs.
At times emotions ran a bit high. Show me a person or organization
who will volunteer to pay rates or taxes.
As with any Bill it is difficult to satisfy everybody. The first
draft of the Bill could not be described as an example of a well
thought through Bill. The Department of Provincial and Local
Government, with the guidance of the Portfolio Committee, and the
many valuable inputs from stakeholders, (as a team), managed to
arrive at a much more acceptable Bill than the one that originally
landed on our desks. SALGA, not the most efficient organization I
have come across, except for arranging so called workshops in every
corner of South Africa with the main purpose of squandering rates
and taxpayers money on outings, as we recently discovered in Cape
Town, their officials at the committee contributed beyond
expectations during deliberations on this Bill.
Constructive assistance was provided to the Department in many
instances. At times, I got the impression that the Department was
at a total loss because changes to clauses were made on a
continuous basis presumably under pressure from certain stake
holders and politicians from the ruling party.
Speaker ......
This Bill has many positive elements regarding property rates. Well
debated and well thought through clauses that objectively consider
every sector that is operating within the boundaries of
municipalities. Literary hundreds of inputs and discussions took
place between the Portfolio Committee, stakeholders, as well as
overseas and local experts on property rates, ranging from
agriculture, religious, welfare and Public Sector Infrastructure
Institutions to name but a few. It is impossible to please
everybody, but we believe that at the end of all these
deliberations, most of the organizations and institutions should be
fairly satisfied with the outcome. Nobody can produce a perfect
Bill and this Bill is no exception, but even this Bill is not cast
in stone and amendments can be looked at in the future.
Religious organizations received a very sympathetic ear from the
Portfolio committee. Not only is the actual place of worship of
religious organizations excluded from paying property rates but
also the official residence of an appropriate office-bearer of a
religious community. (I have tried, for election purposes, to
include Ellispark, Newlands and the FNB stadiums as places of
worship but was unsuccessful.) Other organizations and institutions
were looked at and will be dealt with by my colleague later in this
debate.
Speaker
Die Demokratiese Alliansie het reeds gedurende die bespreking van
die wetsontwerp aangedui dat ons nie ten gunste van sekere
toegewings is, soos vervat in die konsepwetgewing voor ons nie.
Derhalwe kan die Demokratiese Alliansie nie die wetsontwerp in sy
huidige vorm ten volle ondersteun nie.
Deur die toegewings aan die Publieke Sektor Instellings, waar n
korting van 30% toegestaan kan word, gee n onregverdige voordeel
aan die instellings teenoor privaat instellings. Telkom as
voorbeeld betaal reeds nie enige vergoeding vir die grond waarop
hulle byvoorbeeld torings oprig nie, maar instellings soos Vodacom,
MTN en andere moet wel vir die voorregte, vergoeding betaal.
Speaker
The Democratic Alliance as well as the Agricultural sector, is
particularly concerned with the problem which may arise devising a
proper definition of "bona -fide" farmer. We believe that reverting
to "farmers" only, coupled with the application of clause 3 (2A),
will be more acceptable. However this request from the DA and the
agricultural sector was first accepted, but at a later stage
rejected by the majority party committee members.
Unfortunately, special treatment in terms of the Bill has
consequently excluded game farming as an agricultural
activity.
The Democratic Alliance disagrees with the prescription of rates
based as either the improved value of the property or a flat rate
for property within a specified valuation band. The DA believes in
allowing municipalities a local option with regard to determining
the tax base to be used, including the improved capital value, the
land and the annual rental value. The DA disagrees with the
implementation of a flat rate, given that it does not encourage the
development of a property market for those properties, and it is
notoriously difficult to phase out. A proviso is that when a flat
rate is applied it should only be applied at the lowest end of
properties valuated.
A major concern Speaker, apart from the problems that we have with
some clauses in the Bill, for the Democratic Alliance is still the
fact that many municipalities do not have the capacity to implement
this Bill. A problem with many other laws to. Stake holders will
have to make use of the necessary mechanisms built into this Bill
to safeguard their interests. Therefore they must become actively
involved in the activities of their respective municipalities.
Provision has been made for mechanisms such as petitions to the MEC
and Minister if they feel that a municipality has not fully
complied with the norms and standards that are provided for in this
Bill.
Speaker.
Die gebrek aan belangstelling van die ander politieke partye in die
belangrike wetsontwerp was opvallend. Nie een opposisie party,
behalwe die Demokratiese Alliansie, het die afgelope maande aan die
proses deelgeneem nie. Geen wonder dat die NNP leier Van Schalkwyk,
n growwe onwaarheid oor n radio program kwyt geraak het as gevolg
van hulle onkunde nie.
Volgens hom, het die NNP daarin geslaag om die ANC te ooreed om die
wet op Eiendomsbelasting GEAMMENDEER te kry ( wat n verkragting van
Afrikaans ) om die boere teen onnodige ho
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