Insensitive and Disgusting Practice Employed by The City of Cape Town

Amongst the most Insensitive Actions employed by the Western Cape Municipal Revenue Department is the practice of the collection of Rates and Taxes from Indigent and or Rates assisted Persons who have Passed On. The Executors of these Estates need to get a Rates Clearance Certificate from them in order to transfer the Deceased’s Property.

I need to Point out that this Policy applies to the Living Indigent Person’s as well. Alive or Dead the Cape Town Council will Bleed the Financially Challenged People of the little funds they might or might not have. Pathetic ******ion. No Respect for the poorer citizens.

Being Indigent means that at the time of their death, they weren’t paying any Rates and Taxes but apparently after they die, the council feels the need to “loot” the already financially challenged Persons Estate by imposing rates onto the Deceaseds Property.

This then puts the estate under extreme financial pressure and, in a lot of cases, the Executors are forced to sell the property to pay the City Council the outstanding Rates. Disgusting behaviour. Zero Respect for the individual after their Passing.

I have Emailed almost everyone I could contact but it falls on deaf ears. Heartless bunch of Individuals. From the Top down, nobody even offers an explanation. They pass the buck to the Legal Department who still haven’t come up with a coherent explanation on why this policy is being implemented. I’ve also given them weeks to respond but received nothing.

They cannot seem to grasp the Huge Difference between an Indigent Person’s and a Non Indigent Person’s Financial Circumstances . It’s a bloodsucking, Money Grabbing Practice that reeks of Greed.

As there are a lot of Indigent Property Owners out there Please be aware of this practice. As heirs you will be impacted in one way or another.

Be Aware.