Despite ongoing requests by the DA to COGTA MEC, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, to urgently put KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) 11 Property Valuation Appeals Boards back in place, she continues to ignore our appeals.
The MEC is notorious for her inaction. In failing to address this issue she is doing ratepayers in our province a huge disservice.
The boards were originally established in 2010 to give impartial recourse to KZN residents when it comes to property valuation disputes. However, the previous board’s terms ended in February of 2023, which means that residents have had nowhere to turn for seven months.
A recent parliamentary reply (view here) to questions by the DA, reveals that while 34 members of the 11 boards have been identified, COGTA has still not published their names in the Government Gazette. No reason is given for this delay.
To add to this, during a recent meeting with Westville ratepayers, eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda had the audacity to state that the board is functioning. This is blatantly untrue given that KZN’s ANC-run government has failed to take the last step needed to put them back in place.
This latest debacle vindicates the DA’s earlier fears over MEC Sithole-Moloi’s ability to run this vital service delivery department.
As KZN’s former Agriculture and Rural Development MEC she failed to act over ongoing farm attacks, ruined land reform projects and the ever-growing foot-and-mouth disease amongst KZN’s cattle. This amid a looming food security crisis in the province.
Today, she remains the MEC of inaction having failed to act decisively over the collapse of eThekwini, effect progress within Msunduzi or bring stability to KZN municipalities with unstable coalitions.
As ratepayers continue to struggle to meet their financial obligations – and as their unhappiness grows, particularly in eThekwini – the installation of Property Valuations Appeal Boards is increasingly critical. They are the only option for justice for ratepayers who find themselves victims of haphazard property valuations and inflated costs.
The DA will write to MEC Sithole-Moloi and demand that these boards be put in place with immediate effect. She can no longer sit back and do nothing and must finally act in the best interests of the KZN’s citizens.
In 2024, the people of KZN will have the opportunity to save our province and vote for a government that gets things done.