Now this is a question that one sees all over social media, in WhatsApp and Telegram groups as frustrated residents look for methods to galvanise the Municipality into action over one or the other service delivery concern.
Face it – the suburb dwellers have forgotten how to Toyi-Toyi.
This is also a question that the Nelson Mandela Bay Ratepayers Association fields almost daily.
The bottom line is quite simple; “The law has ratepayers by the short and curlies when it comes to organising a rates boycott”
We all get frustrated, especially when we see billions in unauthorised, irregular or wasteful expenditure and a steady decline in service delivery.
However, the Nelson Mandela Bay Ratepayers Association cannot lawfully promote or organise a rates boycott.
In terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act and case law, any organised rates boycott exposes residents to:
- Interest, penalties and legal enforcement
- Service disconnections
- Debt judgments against individuals
- Sale in execution of property in extreme cases
- More importantly, a boycott actually weakens our legal standing. If we withhold payment, the Municipality can argue in court that residents are in breach, which removes the moral and legal high ground for challenging mismanagement.
The NMB Ratepayers Association strategy is the opposite:
- we demand accountability because residents are paying
- we use the Auditor-General’s findings, Municipal Systems Act, and MFMA to enforce transparency
- we challenge irregular, wasteful and non-budgeted expenditure through lawful channels
- we keep residents protected
A rates boycott may feel emotionally justified, but it gives the Municipality an easy defence: “People aren’t paying, therefore services are failing.” We are not giving them that escape route.
The NMB Ratepayers Association supports lawful pressure and accountability, including:
- Public access to budget and expenditure reports
- Demanding forensic investigation into non-budgeted spending
- Forcing Council to recover irregular expenditure
- Legal action where possible against officials and accounting officers
- Supporting ratepayers to dispute incorrect billing individually
Our message is simple: We are paying — therefore we have the right to demand answers.
