SUBMISSIONS AND REPRESENTATION ON: THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT: PROPERTY RATES BILL 2003 (GOVERNMENT GAZETTE NO. 24589/2003) – MINISTER OF PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
Eskom’s submissions and representations are detailed below and it would be appreciated if the following amendments and deletions, indicated in red, be taken into consideration:
1. Chapter 1, Interpretation, Definitions
1.1 "public service infrastructure"
Paragraph (c) substitute with:
"power stations, substations, ancillary related telecommunication infrastructure, water pipelines, coal conveyer belts, dams, water supply reservoirs, railway lines, required for the generation and supply of electricity or power lines forming part of an electricity grid or schemeserving the publicacross a municipal boundary".
2/…
- 2 -
1.2 Explanatory Notes
Eskom has various radio and microwave stations, erected across the country, which serves the Central National Control Centre at Germiston for protection and monitoring the electricity supply and demand system on a national 24 hourly basis and is strictly not serving the public with telecommunications services, but the electricity grid or scheme.
1.3 Eskom’s Transmission and Distribution Divisions, responsible for the transmission and supply of electricity, respectively refer to their power lines and substations as "grid" or "scheme".
1.4 Power lines are part of a national electricity grid or scheme operating in the same manner as railway lines and the wording "across a municipal boundary" may be vague and result in uncertainty, and should therefore be deleted.
1.5 Water pipelines, coal conveyer belts, dams, water supply reservoirs and railway lines are part of Eskom’s infrastructure at power stations generating electricity and not serving the public as such e.g. servitudes are registered over other registered owner’s land in respect of water pipelines, coal conveyer belts and railway lines linked to the national railway system for the conveyance of coal to power stations etc.
2. Paragraph (f) substitute with:
"telecommunication towers, ancillary related infrastructure or lines forming part of a telecommunication system serving the public" across a municipal boundary.
Explanatory Notes
apart from telecommunication towers and lines ancillary related infrastructure, means: any wire, cable, antenna, repeater station, mast or apparatus which is or may be used for or in connection with telecommunications including telecommunication facilities or radio, optical or other electromagnetic apparatus or similar technical system used for the purpose of telecommunications.
3/…
- 3 -
2.2 See note, paragraph 1.4 above, which is also applicable to telecommunication systems on a national level serving the public and "across a municipal boundary" must therefore be deleted, being vague and resulting in uncertainty.
3. Paragraph (i), substitute with:
" (i) property rights of way, easements and servitudes, in connection with infrastructure mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (h)".
Note:
In view of the definition of "rateable property", Section 2 and Section 15(1) and (2), and the fact that rates are disallowed on "public infrastructure" the land ("property") on which "public infrastructure" is erected, and rights of way, easements and servitudes which traverse land as part of "public infrastructure", should therefore also be excluded from "rateable property".