Image: Eugene Coetzee
For years, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality's human settlements department has thumbsucked the fees for land development applications.
It has now finally drawn up a set formula to determine what it should charge for land development applications.
Human settlements boss Nolwandle Gqiba on Tuesday revealed that the fees could go up to R1m for a single application.
“The formula has never been there and it has been going on for years,” Gqiba said.
“For example, a single application for two properties that are adjacent to each other they would charge two advertising fees yet they are only going to publish one advert,” Gqiba said.
Gqiba said the high application fees have seen many developers choose to rather abandon their planned development in the city.
But some developers have become very vocal and challenged the municipality.
“There is no justification for it and no one could defend that. The Human settlements department could not give any logical explanation as to how the fees were calculated,” Gqiba said.
The report on the proposed formula was meant to be discussed at a human settlements portfolio committee on January 15 but the meeting never took place.
Have you experienced any problems with the cost of land applications?