Supreme Court of Appeal rules on non-payment of municipal rates and taxes

The Association of Democratic Alliance Councillors (ADAC) has given details of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal in the matter of Olga Rademan v Moqhaka Municipality, which deal with the powers of a municipality to discontinue the supply of electricity to payment defaulters.

The following is an extract from the judgment, which was delivered by Judge of Appeal T O Bosielo on 1 December 2011:

“As a means of getting the respondent [Moqhaka Municipality] to attend to their various complaints, which alleged poor service delivery, they [the appellants] decided to withhold payments of their rates and taxes. However, they continued to pay for their other municipal services like water and sanitation, electricity and refuse removal.

Notwithstanding various demands for payment, the appellant persisted in her refusal to pay taxes and levies. Inevitably, this impasse culminated in the respondent discontinuing any further supply of electricity to her."

The court ruled that the respondent [Moqhaka Municipality] was justified in disconnecting the appellant's electricity supply - without a court order.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.

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