Bay residents face penalties

RESIDENTS who have not developed their erven will have to pay a penalty, the Walvis Bay Municipality warned yesterday.

The penalty rate will be in accordance with the Local Authorities Amendment Act of 2000. The municipality said in a statement that the penalty rate is calculated at two times the current land or property rate payable to a local authority for the first two years.A penalty rate of four times the land rate applies if the property remains undeveloped for five years.The penalty rate falls away once a property is fully developed and a new rate is calculated based on the valuation of buildings developed on the property.The walling of a property does not constitute development for the purposes of avoiding penalty rates, nor does the sale of the property to a new owner exonerate the new owner from compliance with the development period of the property, the statement said.However, the statement said, the penalty rate does not influence the ‘improvement rate’ payable as per the sale agreement of land purchased directly from the Municipality of Walvis Bay, which is levied separately over and above the newly introduced penalty rate and the normal rate.- NampaThe municipality said in a statement that the penalty rate is calculated at two times the current land or property rate payable to a local authority for the first two years.A penalty rate of four times the land rate applies if the property remains undeveloped for five years.The penalty rate falls away once a property is fully developed and a new rate is calculated based on the valuation of buildings developed on the property.The walling of a property does not constitute development for the purposes of avoiding penalty rates, nor does the sale of the property to a new owner exonerate the new owner from compliance with the development period of the property, the statement said.However, the statement said, the penalty rate does not influence the ‘improvement rate’ payable as per the sale agreement of land purchased directly from the Municipality of Walvis Bay, which is levied separately over and above the newly introduced penalty rate and the normal rate.- Nampa