On 4 December The Courier – Die Koerier carried a report under the heading, Supreme Court of Appeal rules on non-payment of municipal rates and taxes.
The report stated that the Association of Democratic Alliance Councillors (ADAC) had given details of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal in the matter of Olga Rademan v Moqhaka Municipality
The following is a further extract from the judgment that was delivered by Judge of Appeal T O Bosielo on 1 December 2011:
“The central dispute in this matter is whether the municipality was justified in disconnecting the electricity supply to the appellant whilst her account for electricity was up to date. The answer to this question is to be found in Section 102 of the Municipal Systems Act, which provides:
‘A municipality may
(a) consolidate any separate accounts of persons liable for payments to the municipality;
(b) credit a payment by such a person against any account of that person; and
(c) implement any of the debt collection and credit control measures provided for … in relation to any arrears of any of the accounts of such a person.’
This section makes it clear that in pursuit of its obligation to charge and receive payments for municipal services, a municipality has the option to consolidate the accounts for various services it provides. This is intended to circumvent the very problem confronting us in this appeal, that is, allowing residents to choose which account the wish to pay and which they will not pay.”
The appeal was dismissed with costs.
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