Press Statement by:
Cllr Randall Williams
Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane
MMC Fourie intervenes to eradicate the 4000+ rates clearance backlog left by the ANC
17 November 2020
4216…. That is currently the rates clearance memo backlog that exists in the City of Tshwane. A backlog which was left by the ANC administrators when they vacated office after being unlawfully deployed to the city by the Gauteng provincial government.
The City is acutely aware of the impact that the failure to issue clearance certificates as required by legislation has had on the development sector and the economic activity in general across the City.
To address this challenge the re-instated DA-led government has done an intensive review of the process, the available resources and systems necessary for this function to work in an effort to correct these failures and address the backlog.
There is currently a backlog of 4216 clearance memos and 979 clearance certificates. 50% of the memos and 17% of the certificates are outstanding for longer than 30 days.
A dedicated team of meter readers and inspectors has been assigned to obtain actual readings if clearance memos and certificates could not be issued as a result of estimated readings.
The clearance memos outstanding for longer than 30 days must be completed by mid-December 2020. Outstanding clearance certificates longer than 30 must be complete by 20 November 2020.
With effect from January 2021 the administration will have a benchmark of 7 working days to issue a memo and 5 working days to issue a clearance certificate after receipt of payment.
The adherence to this benchmark will be closely monitored.
The development and finalisation of the E-Clearance Enhancement on-line platform available to conveyancers was also resumed in November following a long delay of inactivity.
This platform is essential to improve efficiencies, curb the prevalence of fraudulent clearance certificates used to transfer properties and to address allegations of corruption between City officials and runners visiting customer care centers.
We are committed to providing a transparent and effective service to all stakeholders once the backlog has been eradicated.
Tshwane: Stable. Safe. Delivers
Inquiries:
Cllr Mare-Lise Fourie
MMC for Finance
Jordan Griffiths
Jordang@tshwane.gov.za
