Port Elizabeth’s deteriorating and crime-embattled suburb of Central is one step closer to being declared the city’s second Special Rating Area (SRA) after its proponents secured consent from the majority of property owners towards implementation of the precinct-improvement initiative.
Headed by National Glass business manager Kenrick Brown, the interim chair of the proposed Central SRA, the establishment of the SRA is being driven by business and property owners.
It will become a legal entity directed at securing additional services, over and above those provided by the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality.
The formation of an SRA, which, if implemented, will become the second in the city after Richmond Hill, also has the support, in principle, of the municipality and its affiliated Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA).
The Municipal Property Rates Act 2004 allows for the formation of an SRA, which empowers property owners to implement additional services in their area. Municipalities are, however, still obligated to maintain existing service levels.
Among the benefits of establishing an SRA is increased municipal accountability with regard to the delivery of basic services.
A range of ills besetting Central, which include litter and waste, problem buildings and crime, are expected to be addressed through the formation of the SRA.
In correspondence to property owners in Central earlier in May, the SRA committee said it had secured a majority of consent, as is legally required to implement the new rates regime, and that a formal application would be submitted to the municipality during the course of May.
Municipal approval is anticipated by the committee in June, with the implementation of the SRA levy to take place in July.
The election of the board, which will be tasked with overseeing the SRA and its implementation, is also expected to take place in July, with receipt of funds for the initiative earmarked for November.
Addressing SRA stakeholders, the committee said it was incredibly excited that the majority of property owners in Central had voted for the formation of the SRA.
Thanking those who had supported the formation of the SRA, the committee also addressed opponents and those who did not participate in the voting or lobbying process.
“If you refrained from consenting, or do not support the formation of an SRA for Central, we hope to win you over as we implement our turnaround strategy for Central.“Needless to say, whichever category you fall into, we will be working tirelessly to deliver and be accountable for real measurable change in Central.”The committee said until the SRA was legally constituted and funds were received, “we will be working on ensuring we are ready to hit the ground running come November/December 2019”.Brown said on Friday the consent process had taken more than a year and that, despite the hard work involved up to this point, the real work would only begin now.“We received around 53% majority consent for the SRA.“In monetary terms, the new rates that will be applied to property owners are relatively nominal.”Brown said the rates would work out to about R12 for every R100,000 in property value.“If a property is worth R1m, the owner will only pay an extra R120.“However, for Central as a whole, the average additional rates contribution per property works out to around R35 a month,” he said, adding that provisions had been made for some individuals, such as pensioners, to apply for exclusion.Not all property owners, are in favour of the SRA.In correspondence to the Weekend Post, property owner Eli Konstant, who expressed fears that the money collected by the SRA would end up in the hands of government officials, among a range of other concerns, said she felt it an “infringement on my rights to democratically decide whether I wish to participate or not”.