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Proposed Cape Town drought levy opposed

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The City of Cape Town says its proposed drought levy still has many processes to go through before it’s put in place.

The City was responding to Friday’s deadline given by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), which is seeking clarity on the proposed levy.

OUTA is opposing it and says a decision to charge an additional levy for water, is illegal.

OUTA and other organisations have vowed to do all it can to stop the much talked about proposed water levy, amid Cape Town’s water crisis.

The proposal was put forward at a City of Cape Town council meeting earlier this month.  The proposed water levy will be based on property value rather than water consumption.  The city says the revenue will be used to fund new water projects.

Residents have until January 12 to comment on the levy.

OUTA has called for the proposal to be scrapped.

Portfolio manager for water, Julius Kleynhans, says they are prepared to go to court.

“We believe it’s just another punitive tact. If they don’t do that we will see them in court to stop this because it’s supposed to go through National Treasury because it’s a tax, it’s not just a levy and at the end of the day we also want to force the Department of Water and Sanitation to actually do the water supply. It’s not the job of the city to do that.”

Another group opposing the proposed water levy is STOP C.O.CT.

The Facebook group has also been co-ordinating and encouraging public participation in the matter via its’ website, http://www.dearcapetown.co.za/.

STOP C.O.CT’s Sandra Dickson says there are other alternatives than the proposed levy.

“It is a very ill conceived, panic stricken, short-term solution. They did not investigate all the possible ways of getting alternative sources of revenue. We maintain that the solution for the CT water crisis is not something that’s going to be solved over the next 2 years. We believe it’s rather a longer termed thing that will stretch over the next 10, 20, 30 years,” says Dickson.

Spokesperson for Mayor Patrica De Lille, Zara Nicholson, say the proposed drought levy still has many processes to go through before it’s put in place.

“The City of Cape Town has received OUTA’s comments and their letter and we are currently on our public participation process part of the proposed drought charge which is open for public comments. Their comments will be taken in for consideration as part of the process. As we’ve said before the proposed drought charge is subject to approval by the Minister of Finance, Minister Malusi Gigaba.”

In the meantime, the City’s water woes continue as level six water restrictions come into place on Monday, January 1, 2018.

Capetonians are currently allowed 87 litres of water per person per day.

The City says it will consider even lowering the usage target further to avoid a day zero, when most of the taps in the Cape Town area are expected to be turned off.

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