BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Members of the public have been invited to make contributions to the Rating Act of 1995 by submitting opinions on aspects they want to be included in this piece of legislation.
The members of the public are invited to do so by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which intends to have this Act reviewed. The general purpose of this Act is to rate the immovable properties. The public can make the submissions from now and the deadline for making such is November 29, 2024
According to a public notice issued by Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary (PS) Dr Simon Zwane, the public should state things they wish to be included or excluded in the Act when making the submissions. Zwane further directed that written submissions could be forwarded to chief executive officers (CEOs) of the country’s various towns and cities.
The submissions, according to Zwane, can be sent to the CEOs physically or by emails to the CEOs. Another option, according to the PS, is to submit the contributions to the office of the PS of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The office is situated at the old Income Tax Building in Mbabane. The submissions can be emailed to mhud.eswatini@gmail.com, or they can be posted to:
The Principal Secretary
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
PO Box 1382
Mbabane
Members of the public are called upon to make the submissions because, according to officials within the ministry, the Act was enacted in 1995 and that was before the Constitution of 2005 started working. The Act, for an example, gave certain powers to the Clerk of Court to determine if a person owes rates or not, yet the Constitution gives such powers to the Judiciary. The Rating Act is not aligned with the Constitution.
Another reason why the amendment of this Act is necessary is because of the existence of the Sectional Titles (Amendment) Act of 2018. The Sectional Titles Act allows people to own sections of a certain building or any property. The Rating Act should be clear on who is supposed to be responsible for a property that has been divided to different people. Another aspect that should be addressed is that of common areas within the divided property. The Rating Act should specify the person responsible for payment of those common areas.
