Cash back if trash not removed

2009-12-28 16:10

Pretoria - Residents are entitled to demand back their rates payments if refuse is not removed by the municipality, the Freedom Front Plus said on Monday.

"Residents are entitled to demand back their money, after refuse was not removed by the Tshwane metro council for the fifth time this year," said Conrad Beyers, FF Plus councillor in the Tshwane metropolitan council.

He said the municipality was compelled by law to deliver the services for which residents were paying.

"There are more than enough grounds for residents to declare an official dispute with the metro council on a large scale. It should be officially demanded that discounts should be given for services that were not delivered throughout the year," he said.

Beyers said it was important that not only a few individuals were involved, but that there should be co-ordinated action. "Chairpersons of residents' associations, together with other stakeholders, should get together in January to plan co-ordinated action," he said.

The FF Plus said any further neglect by the ANC-led municipality to make alternative arrangements for waste removal might lead to a disaster in the city.

"While the problem could have been effectively dealt with at a much earlier stage, the fact that the ANC acted as passive spectators of the worsening situation created a serious crisis. This is the worst city administration in the history of Pretoria," said Beyers.

- SAPA