MEDIA RELEASE
NO. 629/ 2010
27 AUGUST 2010


The City of Cape Town has extended the rates rebate deadline from 31 August until 29 October 2010. This is the deadline for those in need who wish to take advantage of the rates rebate offered to registered homeowners whose total household income is R8 500 a month or less, where the occupants are aged 60 years or more, or if they are the recipients of a disability pension/grant.

Alderman Ian Neilson, Deputy Executive Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Finance, said more than 20 000 people who met these requirements successfully registered for this relief last year, but to date only 12 000 applications have been received. The City is concerned about this, hence the extension of the due date. He believes that there are other potential beneficiaries that the Municipality would like to help, but who have not yet registered.

“To provide relief in the current economic climate, when increasingly people are facing the re-possession of essentials such as homes and vehicles, when rising prices of fuel, electricity and food are forcing all but the very rich to cut back on necessities, the City of Cape Town has implemented compassionate policies that will bring some measure of financial aid to those who need it most,” Neilson said.

A rates rebate, which is implemented on a sliding scale of 10% - 100% was made available during June 2010 to registered homeowners whose total household income is R8 500 a month or less, where the occupants are aged 60 years or more, or if they are the recipients of a disability pension/grant.

To maximise the benefits of this policy, the City has therefore extended the deadline for applications from 31 August until 29 October 2010.

"The City wants to register everyone who qualifies for the rates rebate, so that the relief measures we have put in place can restore their dignity and take away the increasing fear of impending poverty,” Neilson said.

"We call on community organisations to encourage potential candidates to register with the City," he said. Neilson pointed out, however, that everyone who qualifies for the rates rebate will have to re-register annually and prove that the circumstances which enabled them to benefit from the policy still apply.

“Anyone who turns 60 within the City’s financial year which runs from July 2010 until June 2011 and to whom the other conditions such as income and disability apply, qualifies as a beneficiary of the rebate,” says Trevor Blake, Director: Revenue. “The rebate will however be implemented on a pro-rata basis.”

Various rates rebates are also available to bona-fide farming operations, non-government organisations, public benefit organisations, religious organisations, health and welfare institutions, educational institutions, historical monuments, charitable institutions, sporting bodies, cultural institutions, youth development organisations and animal protection organisations.

For more information, please call the City’s Call Centre on 0860 103 089 or visit your nearest municipal office.


END

ISSUED BY:
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT, CITY OF CAPE TOWN

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
TREVOR BLAKEa
DIRECTOR: REVENUE
TEL: 021 400 9988 CELL: 084 433 5727