Pretoria, 29 March 2010 – Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka, held a meeting with the Madibeng-based Concerned Rate Payers Association (CORPA) in a bid to understand reasons for withholding rates from municipalities and begin to find sustainable solutions.

CORPA was represented by its chairman, Mr Jaco Dercksen, with members of the executive, Mr Makgopela, Mr Boikanyo and Mr Pretorius.

The meeting comes at a time when rate-payers in a number of towns have instead of paying rates to municipalities, decided to make payments into trust accounts in a bid to force municipalities to provide better and more efficient services to communities.

As a follow-up to the meeting with the Minister today, the Administrator of the Municipality, Mr Eric Matlame, will call a meeting with all representatives of community structures in Madibeng by Wednesday, March 31 to work with the local residents in finding the solutions to service delivery challenges in the municipality.

Madibeng Municipality has had a number of service delivery protests as residents from the nearby Oukasie and Lethlabile townships took to the streets in violent protests against poor service delivery.

Minister Shiceka commended CORPA for choosing to engage and find solutions with government rather than opting for a confrontational stand-off or resolving the matter through the courts.

The practice of residents withholding rates from municipalities, and opting to save them into trust accounts as a form of protest against poor service delivery is led nationally by the National Taxpayers Union.

For more details and requests for interviews with the Minister, please contact the undersigned:

Vuyelwa Qinga Vika (Ms)

Media Liaison Officer

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Ministry

Tel: 012 334 0995

Cell: 082 877 3898