NKRA Communique – June 2023

Hi everyone

We held our June public meeting over the internet at 18h30 on Wednesday 21 June. The various issues arising from that meeting are included in this newsletter. Our next virtual public meeting will be held at 18h30 on Wednesday 19 July 2023. All owners and residents of Killarney and Riviera are welcome to participate. An agenda with a meeting link will be circulated closer to that date.

The Killarney Mall has placed a full-time cleaner on the pavements around the illegal taxi rank, to help in cleaning up the litter which this activity generates. His name is Sthabiso, and he wears branded Killarney Mall clothing. Please all look for him when you pass by, and please offer him some support and appreciation.

We are looking for a sponsor for an additional dedicated street cleaner to help manage the litter and weeds along 1^st Street, including at the illegal taxi rank. We also need to provide a regular cleaning service for the parking area in 7^th Street near the circle. It has been suggested that we could also undertake a series of small community projects ourselves, using volunteer residents and perhaps the staff of our buildings to clean specific problem areas from time to time. Hiring total strangers to do this work is risky, in that we would be responsible for any damage which they might cause to cars etc, so hiring people we know, or using a formal service provider, is safer.

Regarding the overgrown pavements in 7^th Street, where the bulk of the overgrowth was removed by the NKRA recently, members of the community are now helping to maintain that area. However there are now some squatters living on the motorway embankment, and they have started making fires to survive the cold winter nights.

Since our recent pavement repair project, the municipality has already started digging new holes. In addition there is currently a serious water leak under the pavement in 4^th Avenue, between 1^st Street and 2^nd Street, which will require some serious digging in the near future. On the bright side, some work is now being done by the municipality in Oxford Road to resurface parts of that busy road. This is long overdue, and very much welcome.

The two Martin buildings in Killarney have not yet been sold, and the agents are continuing to seek buyers for both buildings. In the meanwhile Dr Martin has repainted his boundary wall in 1^st Street. Although he has not yet repaired the hole in the wall, the clean paint really does make a positive difference. The yard has also been cleaned up, and the railing on the Riviera Road frontage has been repainted also. A very positive development indeed.

The municipal Public Open Spaces By-Laws, at clause 16(i), require that dogs in the park must be “on a leash and under control of a person”, unless they are in “any part thereof designated by the Council as an area where dogs may run free”. No part of our park in Killarney is designated as an area where dogs may run free. Nonetheless, some dog owners want to allow their dogs to run freely in the park. In most cases there is no problem with this, but sometimes dogs do approach and frighten people – especially children. An enquiry has been made to City Parks about the possibility of building a fenced-off designated area inside the park for dogs to run free, but so far no response has been received to our various written enquiries. We obviously cannot risk an injury to a child (or anybody else), so in the meanwhile, please would all dog owners take extra care to ensure that their dogs are not causing problems for other people in the park.

A grand old pavement tree on the corner of 1^st Street and 2^nd Avenue snapped in a storm long ago, and fortunately it was prevented from falling onto the building by falling against a large tree inside the Dukes Court garden. It got stuck there, and remained balanced ever since, but this was clearly not a safe situation. Dukes Court was not allowed to remove a pavement tree, but after many months of begging, the municipality have finally done something about it. The tree is not dead, and hopefully it will grow new shoots from the large stump – time will tell.

For all municipal service delivery issues, including potholes, pavements, Pikitup, electricity and water issues, you can contact the municipal Call Centre on 0860 562 874 to have your concerns forwarded to the relevant operational departments. Please would everybody keep on reporting these issues, and always ask them for a reference number. Please try to include photographs of the problem where you can, because the municipality seems to respond slightly faster when we include photos to support our complaints. You can also log municipal problems on MySmartCity, at https://mysmart.city, or download their App from the website.

The existing pensioner rebates will expire soon. Registered property owners who are pensioners may apply for a rebate on their municipal property rates, subject to certain amended criteria. This is not an automatic rebate – an application must be done on the prescribed application form, completed application forms must be delivered to any municipal Customer Service Centre, and your reference number must be noted on the application form.

The basic conditions are detailed on our website at https://www.nkra.org.za/municipal-rates-rebates/, but in summary they are as follows:

• The rebate is applicable to residential property rates only;
• The residential property must consist of one dwelling;
• The owner must have reached the age of 60 years;
• The owner must own and occupy the property;
• This rebate is also available to property owners who have retired early and become pensioners due to workplace injuries;
• Pensioners who own property by way of a registered long-term lease may apply for the rebate;
• The property owner must apply at the nearest Customer Service Centre on the prescribed form, and a reference number must be attached to the application form;
• A rebate may be granted for a maximum duration of the current Valuation Roll;
• The rebate will be granted from the date of application, unless otherwise stated.

If the pensioner is between 60-69 years of age, the additional conditions are:

1. If a pensioner has a gross monthly income below R11,904, they will qualify for a 100% rebate on the first R1.5 million of the market value of the property. This means that there will be zero property rates levied on the first R1.5 million of value, but normal property rates will be levied on any market value in excess of R1.5 million.
2. If a pensioner has a gross monthly income between R11,904 and R20,404 then they will qualify for a 50% rebate on the first R1.5 million of market value. Normal property rates will be levied on any market value in excess of R1.5 million. 
3. If a pensioner’s monthly income is above R20,404 then they will not qualify for any rebate.
4. If a pensioner receives a National Security Grant, they will qualify for a 100% rebate subject to the market value threshold and the basic conditions above.

The application for a rates rebate should include:

• a certified copy of their ID book;
• 3 months recent bank statements;
• proof of income OR copy of certified SAASA card OR any other proof of income acceptable to the Council, and 
• the most recent income tax assessment issued by the South African Revenue Service.

If a pensioner is aged 70 years and above:

1. The market value threshold is R2 million. The pensioner will qualify for a 100% rebate on the property rates, irrespective of income, up to a market value of R2 million. Normal property rates will be levied on any market value in excess of R2 million. 
2. The application should include a certified copy of their ID book.

Pensioner rebate application forms are available on the COJ website, at the municipal Customer Service Centres, or you can request them by e-mail at the address ratescomments@joburg.org.za.

At the NKRA April public meeting it was proposed to launch a lawsuit against the municipality to compel them to enforce the municipal by-laws. An advocate in Killarney has offered to lead this process on behalf of the community free of charge, but we also need an attorney to volunteer to undertake the attorney-level activities. In the previous newsletter we asked attorneys who live in Killarney to volunteer, but so far we have had no response. If we succeed in getting a court order forcing the municipality to actually do the job which we pay it to do, it will be of huge benefit to our area, but it would also be a valuable precedent for other residents across South Africa. If there are any attorneys living in Killarney-Riviera, please would you step forward and volunteer to assist the community with this process?

Once again, residents are strongly reminded not to display cell-phones or other valuables on the pavements, because criminals are constantly watching for opportunities to rob you. Please would all buildings put up warning signs in your foyers and garages, so that you alert your residents as well as their visitors.

It seems that the Engen filling station in Glenhove Road, at the corner of Oxford Road (alongside McDonald’s) has become a hot-spot for cell-phone snatching as well. If you are a customer at that Engen or that McDonald’s, please exercise even more caution than usual.

Security companies are warning that hijacking is still a problem, particularly in the driveway of your building where the hi-jackers can box you in, or these days also at the drive-through lane of a fast-food place. Another notable trend is when a criminal deliberately drives into the back of your car in traffic, and then hi-jacks you when you get out to check the damage. Please continue to exercise extreme caution.

We have been invited to participate in a community project, together with the Killarney Mall, as part of the annual Mandela Day celebration. Our project will be for all our residents to donate non-perishable food to be given to the formal shelters and soup-kitchens which care for desperate people in our vicinity. The Mall has already positioned bins outside Pick ‘n Pay and Woolworths to collect our various donations. The beneficiaries are asking particularly for bread flour, dry beans and dry lentils, any tinned food, soup packets, salt and sugar, and tea. Residents have also suggested to donate warm clothing and blankets and baby products, as these will always be useful to somebody. The accumulated donations will be handed over on Mandela Day, but we can all start donating immediately.

I also attach the official poster as a separate document – please would you put these posters up in appropriate places around your buildings so as to publicise the project as widely as possible?

So far 35 buildings out of the 55 sectional title buildings in Killarney-Riviera have paid their NKRA membership subscriptions for the year ahead – this is about 64% of the total. The current list of the members for 2023 so far is as follows:

• Berkeley Square
• Beverley Heights
• Biarritz
• Brenthurst Court
• Bretton Woods
• Canterbury Close
• Castlerosse
• Chelston Hall
• Christina Court
• Cranwell Hall
• Daventry Court
• Devon Place
• Dumbarton Oaks
• Earls Court
• Glenhof Gardens
• Greenhills
• Hampshire Mews
• Hyde Court
• Interlaken
• Killarney Court & Gardens
• Killarney Hills
• Killarney Village
• Killarney Wilds
• Kingsborough
• Knightsbridge
• Mentone Court
• Monviso
• Park Avenue
• Portofino
• Rapallo
• Riviera Mansions
• Riviera Villas
• Sevenoaks
• Splice
• The Rivieras

Many thanks indeed to all these buildings for your on-going support. Thank you also to the various people who make personal donations as well.

We are happy to receive photos of any interesting things that might be happening around our area, which we might include in future newsletters. We also welcome all suggestions from all residents, on all issues. In particular, we seek feedback on the various issues described above. The primary action points are:

• We are looking for a sponsor for an additional dedicated street cleaner;
• The suggestion for a fenced-off area inside the park for dogs to run free;
• Please warn people about cell-phone snatching;
• We need an attorney to volunteer to help us sue the municipality;
• Please help us to publicise the annual Mandela Day community project.

Our next virtual meeting will be held at 18h30 on Wednesday 19 July 2023.

Greetings to all, keep well, and keep safe.

Wayne Ford