Legality of once-off levy questioned

THE agreement entered into by the Kouga Municipality and the St Francis Bay Riparian Home Owners Association to levy a once-off riparian levy of R10000 on the affected homeowners in St Francis Bay at the end of March was not unanimously adopted by council last week.
Councillor Ben Rheeder questioned the legality of implementing such a levy. He also raised the concern that not all the ratepayers had agreed on this, and that the law stated 50 plus 1%of the ratepayers had to concur. He warned that should certain homeowners refuse to pay the municipality will not have the legal right to pursue them. Newly-appointed municipal manager Sydni Fadi agreed with Rheeder, and the matter will be further investigated. – Cindy Liebenberg