Rehoboth taxes skyrocket by 400%

The Rehoboth community is up in arms after the town council implemented a so-called 2013 valuation roll, which saw residents charged an up to 400% increase in property taxes. They are now threatening to drag the council to court.Former councillor Lenny Pienaar yesterday said they have written to the council to demand an audience because of its failure to communicate the new rates to the community. Locals also want answers on “many discrepancies” found in bills.During a community meeting at the town on Sunday, Pienaar said the town council’s administrative staff are disrespectful and contemptuous towards the public, especially vulnerable pensioners, who demanded answers.“There are already gazetted tariffs and as far as I know, this valuation roll was not approved. It was before the court and we have not been aware that the court has approved the roll.“If indeed it was so, it should have been signed off and a copy should be given to council for safekeeping. Why can they not give us the proof?” he asked.Pienaar added that there are several discrepancies in the application of the roll, including two neighbours with the same size plot paying different rates, while council has also failed to base its rates on the actual size of some plots that have since been subdivided.‘Where is the consistency?’“We are not known in the affairs of Rehoboth. I have personally spoken to people and there many inconsistencies around the property tax. The one man pays N$200 and his neighbour N$900 and the other one across the road pays N$800 – where is the consistency?“I have asked them what formula they used to determine this tax, but they have no explanation,” he fumed.Residents plan to hold a series of meetings to mobilise the community as well as funds to pay a lawyer to handle the matter for them.They are very clear that the matter will not be politicised and will not be swept under a political party’s rug, but will instead be dealt with as a neutral community matter, residents said.Urgent meetingAfter uproar on social media when residents learnt of the new rates on their monthly bills, newly elected mayor Amanda Groenewaldt over the weekend announced that they called an urgent meeting – despite being on recess - to see how they can salvage the situation.The meeting, between Groenewaldt, the chairperson of management committee Justin Coetzee, the town council CEO Simeon Kanime and the council’s administrative management, allegedly determined that the now controversial valuation roll was already approved by the court, but was not implemented earlier.“We worked on the valuation roll of 2007, where some house owners paid as little as N$20 per month for property taxes. I personally agreed that as a homeowner, the property taxes were very low, therefore no development in town could take place,” Groenewaldt said.“But [we] also agreed that the property rates [are now] sky high, therefore we had that meeting. As indicated on the notice, pensioners will have a lower rate as well as the rest of the community except businesses.“The 2007 rates are really low and there must be some increase, but gradually and not so drastically in order for development to begin to take root in Rehoboth,” she added.The mayor yesterday said they are mindful of the impact this increase will have on the town’s residents as they enter the festive season, and that they are urgently looking at solutions. However, since they are on recess, the council cannot take any binding decisions.Residents will have to wait until 4 January 2023 - when the council returns to office - for any new decision on the increase.jemima@namibiansun.com

Rehoboth taxes skyrocket by 400%

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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Rehoboth taxes skyrocket by 400%

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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