The Democratic Alliance in Limpopo welcomes the recent Constitutional Court judgment declaring that Section 25 of Limpopo’s Traditional Leadership and Institutions Act 6 of 2005—which allowed Traditional Councils to raise and impose taxes—is inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore invalid.
The judgment confirms that only legislative bodies have the authority to raise and impose taxes. Traditional Leaders may also not impose taxes under customary law.
Section 25 of the Act empowered Traditional Councils to “levy a traditional council rate upon every taxpayer of the traditional area concerned” and stated that failure to pay the rate could result in the taxpayer being “dealt with in accordance with the customary laws of the traditional community concerned.”
The judgment highlighted that across Limpopo, communities were being forced to pay various levies imposed by Traditional Leaders without consultation or adoption by the community. In some instances, levies were raised for services that should be provided free of charge, such as obtaining a proof of address letter. In other cases, services like the issuing of a proof of address letter were unjustly withheld, or fines were imposed for the non-payment of these levies.
We call upon the Limpopo Provincial Government to widely publicize this ruling to ensure that affected communities are made aware of their rights.