Rebates to schools affected by rates hike costing R27 million a month, says Mayor Phalatse

Joburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse said that the rebates given to public and private schools following the rates increase were costing the city R27 million a month.

More than 700 private schools and over 900 public schools found themselves paying inflated rates after they were reclassified as businesses.

This was triggered by a directive made by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to change property categories in the city.

Joburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse said that the city was still at loggerheads with the department in a bid to challenge the reclassification of some properties, including educational institutions.

Some schools were charged the rates and tariffs equivalent to business and commercial properties.

The move, which dates as far back as 2015, saw the city dealing with a flood of complaints from ratepayers in the city.

Phalatse said that the department was still refusing to let the city keep the initial classification, leading to Phalatse’s office giving affected schools rebates to cushion the financial blow.

While the City of Joburg will foot the bill in the meantime, Phalatse said that this would not affect the municipality’s budget for the current financial year.

“This was actually not factored into our budget so no, our budget will not be affected by the correction,” the mayor said.

Phalatse said that the department still faced legal challenges for the move, with AfriForum and private school, Curro, among those taking it to court.

-EWN

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