Background
The idea of having a single body representing all Ratepayers Associations in Ndlambe to have a single voice on matters of common interest was the brainchild of Dr Dermot Moore (Port Alfred) and Rob Speedy (Kenton-on-Sea). They were the founders of this body calling themselves the Ndlambe Ratepayers Forum (NRF). Initially the NRF met to discuss matters of common interest but after a number of years of operating it was realised that for this body (NRF) to be effective it had to be formalised and properly constituted to give it teeth.
The Constitution of the Ndlambe Ratepayers’ Forum (NRF) was unanimously approved at an inaugural meeting held on September 27, 2007 at Port Alfred.
The first ‘full’ meeting of the NRF was held at the end of February, 2008 in order to appoint/record its incoming Executive Committee and office bearers for the 2008 calendar year.
The constitution was amended and approved in 2009 to address shortcomings experienced.
The NRF is a non-political organisation which shall not align itself to any political party or movement. The NRF adopts a non-confrontational approach in dealing with Ndlambe Local Municipality.
Objectives
Objectives of the NRF are to protect and promote the common interests of ratepayers and/or residents regarding the activities/issues of all levels of government including local, provincial and national government.
These activities/issues of common interest include amongst other, but not limited to:
- The development of the annual budget and IDP.
- Infrastructural development
- Protection of the environment
- Water supply
- Property valuations roll
- Managing of refuse sites
- Protection services
Recent Achievements to date
Probably the biggest achievement has been through regularly meeting with Municipal officials (Mayor, Municipal Manager and Directors) in a responsible way. The NRF has been recognised by the Municipality as representing and being the voice of the residents and ratepayers of Ndlambe LM. This also assists the Municipality in communicating matters of common interest through a single nodal point – the NRF. Being recognised as such, the NRF are invited to attend yearly meetings with all the different Ndlambe LM departments and forums.
After meetings with Ndlambe LM written submissions were made on matters of concern and recommendations made on items like cost cutting, catering, maintenance and overtime. Obviously all of our recommendations could not be implemented but it is pleasing to note that the drive by the Ndlambe LM to collect outstanding debt was one of the issues strongly raised by the NRF during all our meetings.
During the process to extend the service area of Amatola Water to include the Ndlambe Municipal area, during 2022, the NRF prepared a strong argument against the proposal to appoint Amatola Water as the service provider in the whole of the Eastern Cape. Instead the NRF recommended that legislation should allow local structures with the necessary competence, experience and motivation to manage water supply systems within the local municipal areas in conjunction with the local municipality, funded (capital) from National Funds under the auspices of the Department of Water and Sanitation.
The NRF had numerous interactions with the Finance Department about the latest Ndlambe Budget of 2024: errors in the Audited Financial statements were identified and they need to be corrected. The Property Rates calculation was reduced from .0139 cents in the Rand to .011 cents in the Rand. Numerous non-core activities that Ndlambe LM fund were identified and the Ndlambe LM were asked to get funding for these non-core items from the relevant Provincial and National Departments rather than burdening the ratepayers with these costs. Increasing debt accumulation and collection of outstanding debt must be made a priority. Ndlambe’s rates and valuation committee wrote off R9.0 million from defaulting ratepayers and residents. The NRF will ask to be part of this committee to help provide oversight on the debt being written off.
The following focus areas are standard items on NRF committee agenda:
- Water
- Roads
- Sewerage
- Refuse
- Stray animals
- Fire protection
- Budget
- IDP
- Meetings with the relevant Directors
For the contact details of your local ratepayers association, please email NRF secretary Judie van Wyk: judie@geocoal.co.za
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, June 27, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
