Tshwane denies unfairly targeting Kleinfontein with hiking its rates bill
The municipality has hiked the rates bill of the Afrikaner-only settlement from about R50,000 a month to R2 million a month.
Kleinfontein is a white Afrikaans-only settlement. Picture: Thabiso Goba/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG – The City of Tshwane Municipality has denied it is unfairly targeting the illegal white-Afrikaner only settlement of Kleinfontein, saying it only wants what is due to it.
The municipality has hiked the rates bill of the settlement from about R50,000 a month to R2 million a month.
The Kleinfontein board has previously mentioned the new rates pose a threat to its survival because it residents cannot afford them.
Last year, the North Gauteng High Court declared Kleinfontein an illegal settlement and ordered the City of Tshwane Municipality to enforce its by-laws in the area.
At a media briefing on Thursday, Tshwane Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise said the municipality is only following the directive of the court.
“We are embarking on getting our money from Kleinfontein, that’s the intention, and other politics like other people must be able to access it; those are not the purview of the city. It is legislated and can only be done by provincial and national governments.”
The municipality recently established a mayoral subcommittee looking to formalise 17 illegal townships within its borders, including Kleinfontein.
The Kleinfontein board says it is looking forward to finally getting clarity on its legal status.