Cape Town – Households will soon be paying between R45 and R60 extra every month as part of a drought levy, if mayor Patricia de Lille has her way in council on Tuesday.
For more affluent households whose properties are valued in excess of R3 million, the drought levy could reach R350 and is to be billed on top of municipal rates and taxes.
Families whose properties are valued under R400 000 will be exempt from the drought charge, which is set to implemented in February.
(We) will be proposing a drought charge to help pay for vital water projects for 2018.
She said the levy would be presented to council on Tuesday.
“It will not be an excessive amount in relation to resident and businesses rates accounts.
It is proposed that a residential property with a valuation of R800 000 could pay a drought charge of R45 and for a property with a valuation of R1m, the proposed drought charge would be R60.
If council approves the proposal, a public communications campaign will follow until mid-January.
It must be emphasised that the drought charge is necessary for vital water projects, it is not intended to be punitive as it relates to residents’ water savings,” she said.
Now Capetonians are being penalised for the City’s poor planning and for saving water."