Saldanha Bay Municipality residents have asked independent state institutions to launch an investigation after hundreds of them were allegedly forced to pay for rates and taxes even though they don’t own houses.
They want the Public Protector's Office to look into whether the municipality's practice of collecting such levies, even from "dead people" was legal or not.
The municipality covers the West Coast district, including Saldanha Bay, Vredenburg, Paternoster, St Helena Bay, Langebaan, Hopefield and surrounding areas.
The residents were beneficiaries of state houses during the apartheid era and even after 1994 and have yet to be granted title deeds.
Community activist and member of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), Nettie Ferris said: "Not only do these residents not have title deeds that make them homeowners, but are also financially held accountable for paying rates and taxes to the municipality. It is our understanding that this is fraudulent. Rates and taxes are financial liabilities of homeowners."
A resident Lye Neethling received a bill of more than R8 000 for rates and taxes, as well as water and refuse collection.
"Both my parents who moved into the municipality owned house years ago have since died. I stay here with my children but the house hasn’t been transferred into my name. They also didn’t have a title deed, " she said.
Ferris said that the party assisted about 25 community residents in Saldanha Bay, but there were a few hundred others across Vredenburg, Hopefield, Paternoster, St Helena and other surrounding areas that faced similar problems.
"Some of the accounts are even in the names of people who died a long time ago. Others have been living in the houses for more than 30 years."
Ferris said they had written "countless times" to the City officials including the municipal manager, councillors and mayor but the matter and others related to "bad" service delivery weren’t resolved.
She also said she was told by municipal manager Heinrich Mettler in February that there was "no money" for the title deeds.
Other service delivery concerns were related to a "service and capacity" charge for electricity, as well as the deduction of the R238 for electricity surcharges and charges for electricity purchases and to cover supposed water, sewage and refuse “arrears”.
In February, Ferris also brought to Mettler's attention safety concerns over street lights in Diaz Road that hadn’t been working for over a year.
"It's comical how money is made available to fix lights in town and installation of CCTV cameras, yet the municipality refuses to fix the lights in Diaz Road, because of the R9 million cost associated with it."
A 61 year-old Saldanha Bay resident, Joseph Adams, said he'd been on a housing waiting list since 1996.
In the municipal response, spokesperson, Ethne Lawrence, referred to a section of the legislature which she claimed permitted the levying of rates.
However, the legislation permitted such practice in a case of property that was sold by a municipality and of which possession was given to the buyer pending registration of ownership.
She also confirmed that the municipality recovered arrears from prepaid electricity purchases.
"Seventy percent of the tendered amount to purchase electricity goes towards the outstanding municipal account and the consumer will only receive electricity amounting to 30% of the tendered amount."
She wouldn’ give time frames as to when the municipality would allocate a budget for street lights in Diaz Road.
"The budget provision for maintenance and repairs is severely constrained. Future budgets will again make provision for, among others, the replacement and repair of equipment such as street lights," Lawrence added.