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6 NHLANGANO PROPERTIES AUCTION FOR OWED RATES

27/08/2018 09:04:00 BY KWANELE DHLADHLA

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MBABANE – Six strategically positioned properties attached for arrear rates in Nhlangano will soon have new owners. The properties referred to as Lot Numbers 446, 433, 368, 566, 297 and 580 belonging to Esther Thokozile Mamba, Benjamin Madonswa Dube, Rita Dlamini, Zanele Nester Shongwe and Nathaniel Zana Mkhwanazi among others, will be auctioned next week Friday (September 7).

The sale will be conducted outside the Nhlangano Magistrates Court starting from 11am.
The cheapest property that will go under the hammer has a reserve price of E118 000, while the highest will attract bids starting from E534 000.
As a local authority, in line with their Integrated Development Plan (IDP), Nhlangano Town Board uses a couple of strategies in order to encourage property owners to pay their rates.
This includes providing incentives to property owners who pay their rates religiously, through running ‘pay your rates in full and win campaign’, where ratepayers are rewarded with prizes.
The municipality also conducts stakeholder meetings; educate the town’s residents and property owners on rates payment and other issues relating to their operations.

On numerous occasions, it has been emphasised that it was not council’s intention to auction ratepayer’s property for outstanding rates. However, when all strategies fail together with other means for rates recovery as stated in Rating Act (1995), the council issues reminders for rates due and publishes a list of rates defaulters in the print media before instituting legal proceedings, in order to recover outstanding rates.

Rates collection remains a challenge for a majority of local authorities in the country, and it is for this reason that they continuously engage property owners and remind them to honour their obligation of paying rates.
There is a court procedure governing the sale of properties through public auction, meaning if council has recovered the rates owed, as well as other costs related to the recovery of rates, then the balance gets remitted to the previous owner of the property.