Rates and Fixed Charges Have Doubled — While Incomes Haven’t
Over the past three years, municipal rates and fixed charges in Mossel Bay have increased by more than 100%, while inflation has averaged roughly 4.5% per annum. Over the same period, state pensions increased by only 2.9%, and municipal employment costs rose by an estimated 7–8%.
For households, pensioners, and small businesses, that divergence is not sustainable. Most incomes, pensions, and operating revenues tend to track inflation — not tariff hikes that run at multiples of income growth. When municipal charges outpace earnings by this margin, affordability collapses and arrears become inevitable.
The affordability problem isn’t theoretical — it’s predictable
When bills rise faster than people’s ability to pay, the outcome is consistent everywhere:
disposable income shrinks
financial stress increases
more accounts fall into arrears
trust in municipal decision-making declines
This is especially harsh for pensioners, low-income families, and unemployed residents. They can’t “earn their way out” of sudden hikes. For them, steep increases don’t just reduce comfort — they deepen poverty and insecurity in a city that is otherwise growing and thriving.
Why are existing ratepayers carrying so much of the load?
Instead of relying primarily on natural revenue growth from new developments and expanding suburbs, Mossel Bay has increasingly depended on sharp increases in rates and fixed charges. This shifts financial pressure onto existing ratepayers and raises serious concerns about long-term fairness and sustainability.
Mossel Bay has historically been seen as a financially healthy municipality. Growth in property development and limited-use holiday homes expanded the revenue base while helping keep rates and service charges relatively affordable. That history makes the current trajectory more concerning, not less.
A fair baseline exists: link increases to inflation
Pegging annual increases to inflation is not radical — it’s a basic fairness and predictability principle. South Africa’s inflation targeting policy operates within a 3%–6% band, with a midpoint of 4.5%. Yet Mossel Bay has imposed cumulative increases approaching 95% over three years.
Inflation-linked increases offer:
predictability for households and businesses
a stable planning base for the municipality
a fair alignment with real-world income growth
reduced risk of a non-payment spiral
With new suburbs and holiday properties continuing to add to the revenue base, Mossel Bay can align increases with inflation without undermining service delivery. Ratepayers deserve stability — not the uncertainty of political or long-term projects being funded through repeated bill shocks.
A practical framework to restore balance
MossRates proposes a clear approach to protect affordability while maintaining municipal sustainability:
Cap all annual municipal increases at the official inflation midpoint (4.5%)
Require full public consultation and justification for any deviation
Ensure proper engagement and communication with ratepayers
Revive and renew efforts to eliminate poverty drivers, as current efforts are ineffective
Stop shifting long-term project costs onto residents through blanket increases — finance them sustainably
Ensure competent enforcement against illegal migrants and unlawful building, as current efforts are not working
This isn’t about blocking development or weakening the municipality. It’s about restoring financial discipline and fairness so that growth doesn’t become a permanent affordability burden for the people already funding the system.
Mossel Bay can lead — or it can follow the backlash trend
Across South Africa, communities are pushing back against steep municipal hikes. The message is consistent: keep increases aligned with inflation. Mossel Bay can lead by example — or risk joining the growing list of municipalities facing deepening public backlash, worsening arrears, and declining trust.
The bottom line
MossRates calls for all future municipal increases in Mossel Bay to be capped at inflation. Where extraordinary funding is needed, the solution must be transparent consultation and sustainable financing — not blanket hikes that punish everyone, every year.
Mossel Bay is a wealthy, growing city. With new revenue streams already in place, there is no justification for a cost burden that effectively doubles every three years. By pegging rates and charges to inflation, we can protect households today while keeping municipal finances sustainable for the future
