The approval of the 2026-27 draft budget by the Lesedi local municipality has triggered renewed controversy, with residents and property owners accusing councillors of ignoring a court ruling that declared the municipality’s latest property valuation roll unlawful.
The budget was approved by council despite ongoing legal disputes surrounding the municipality’s 2024-29 general valuation roll, which was declared invalid by the High Court in Johannesburg earlier this year.
The municipality has since sought leave to appeal the judgment, but residents argue the valuation roll remains unlawful until overturned by a higher court.
Property owners opposed to the budget said the municipality has effectively based its future revenue projections on property valuations that have already been set aside by the courts.
R200 000 on legal fees
A resident, Bouwe Wiersma, said the council was doing as it pleases because it has public funds to waste on lawyers while ratepayers have to dig deep into their own pockets to challenge decisions that affect them.
He said they have already spent about R200 000 on legal fees to challenge the evaluation roll.
“It is frustrating as accountability is prevented and it would surely change when courts give personal cost orders against the officials guilty of bad administration decisions,” Wiersma said.
He said the municipality was taking a massive financial risk by budgeting on the basis of a valuation roll that has already been declared unlawful.
“If property owners refuse to pay rates based on these disputed valuations, collection efforts could become difficult,” Wiersma.
He estimated that the municipality is exposing itself to potential revenue risks of over R46 million should the legal challenge succeed.
In February, the high court found that the municipality failed to comply with mandatory public notice requirements under the Municipal Property Rates Act before implementing the new roll.
This is the same roll that triggered contentious increases which residents said far exceeded the advertised 4.9% hike for the 2024-25 financial year.
Municipal spokesperson Katleho Seaga has not replied to questions at the time of publication.
DA rejected valuation roll budget
DA councillor Yvonne van Coller-Combrinck confirmed the budget has been approved but said the party, with five councillors, rejected the budget last week and had also previously rejected it in March when the draft budget was first presented.
“[Lesedi] is ANC-governed and their majority members approved the budget, even after the DA highlighted why council cannot approve this budget,” she said.
“On paper, they created a funded budget, but it is not funded, as it is based on an above 80% collection rate, while the collection has never even been above 70% for the past decade.
“The ANC and EFF want the budget approved just so that [Lesedi] will not lose out [on] equitable shares… municipalities with unfunded budgets forfeit their equitable shares.”
