I am a small private investor in the inner city of Johannesburg and have also been hit by an iniquitous and ill-considered 700% proposed rate hike in the new valuation roll. DA mayor Herman Mashaba has ostensibly encouraged investment in the inner city, but incompetence such as this on the part of his administration will deter further private investment. Many small investors will be unable to pay these exorbitant new rates, while they fight the city in the interminable objection process or in the courts. The city has threatened to disconnect electricity to buildings where the higher rates are not paid, which will result in hardship for resident families and potentially open the way for opportunistic building hijackings again. The capitalised value of rates payable to the city is equivalent to an ownership claim by the city on a portion of the property concerned. By threatening to hike rates 700% the DA-run Johannesburg council is in effect nationalising a large portion of these prop...
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