New Rates Bills Now Available
…they were posted at the Post Office first week of April. SMS notifications were also issued. If you wish to have yours emailed, please indicate.
Property owners within the Manzini urban boundary, be it residential, commercial, urban farms, developed or undeveloped, are notified that the Municipal Council of Manzini has issued new rates bills. The bills were issued on the first week of this month and are already available at the post office whilst others were hand-delivered. Bulk SMSs have also been issued to property owners, notifying them about the new rates bills and outstanding balances. Those who wish to have the bills emailed are requested to notify the Municipality’s Finance Department (2508 5053/2508 5024/2508 5028) and that will be done. The rates bills are due and payable by the 31st May 2022, after which the statutory interest of 15% per annum (1.25% per month) will be effected on all outstanding balances. Property owners who, for some reason, may have not yet received their rates bills are advised to contact the Municipality (2508 5053/2508 5028/2508 5024/7903 8830) and they will be furnished with their rates statements. The Rating Act, 1995, (Section 4) authorizes the Municipal Council of Manzini to make, assess and levy a general rate at the beginning of each financial year upon all immovable property within the area of the local authority. According to the Act, rates is a form of tax that is charged on every property within an urban area. It is from these property taxes that the Municipality is able to provide municipal services to the city. Property owners who may have difficulty settling the entire bill by the end of May 2022 are advised to make an arrangement towards monthly instalments with the Municipality’s Finance Department.
Properties whose owners have made monthly instalment arrangements with the Municipality do not attract the monthly interest; as long as there is no defaulting on the agreed instalments. The Municipality further advises that estate properties are not exempt from rates payment. Those responsible for the estate are required to either pay in full or make payment arrangements with the Municipality; failing which the interest trickles in. The Municipality takes this opportunity to appreciate property owners who always make it a point to pay their rates in time and in full. The Municipality further implores property owners who may have changed their postal addresses and other contact details, or those who may have recently acquired property within the Manzini urban boundary, to furnish the Municipality with the new contact details for ease of communication. If there is anyone who owns property in the Manzini urban area but does not receive any form of communication from the Municipality, it means there is something wrong with the contact details relating to the property on the Municipality’s side. The property owner is required to approach the Municipality and update the contact information. The Rating Act, 1995, says it is a prosecutable offence to acquire property and not notify the Municipality of the new contact details. It is also an offence to change the contact details and not notify the Municipality. Section 37(4)(5) states that “the owner of any immovable property shown in the valuation roll shall notify the local authority of his postal address within two weeks of acquiring such property and, thereafter, within two weeks of any change of his postal address. An owner who fails to comply with subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence”.
…RATES PAYMENT METHODS
The Municipal Council of Manzini has a number of rates payment methods. These are Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), MTN Mobile Money, Eswatini Mobile e-Mali, cash at the Rates Hall or debit/credit card swiping at the Rates Hall. The Municipality has accounts with a number of financial institutions, namely; Nedbank, Standard Bank, First National Bank and Swaziland Building Society. The following are the details for the various digital platforms;
Nedbank | First National Bank | Standard Bank | Swaziland Building Society |
Branch: Manzini | Branch: Manzini | Branch: Manzini | Account No.: 52000222820 |
Account No.: 040000001308 | Account No.: 62770574434 | Account No.: 9110001190655 | Reference: Plot Number\account no. |
Branch code: 360264 | Branch code: 282064 | Branch code: 660564 | |
Reference: Plot Number\account no. | Reference: Plot Number\account no. | Reference: Plot Number\account no. |
Eswatini MTN Mobile Money (MoMo Pay) | Eswatini Mobile e-Mali |
1. *007# | 1.*232# |
2. Select 1 | 2.Select Pay bills |
3. Select 4 | 3. Select Others |
4. Select 1(Manzini City Council) | 4. Enter 100845 |
5. Select Rates | 5. Enter plot#/Account No. as reference |
6. Enter Account No. as reference |
…CITIZENS URGED TO ENSURE PROPERTY SAFETY DURING EASTER HOLIDAYS
The Municipal Council of Manzini takes this opportunity to wish citizens a safe and refreshing long weekend. The long weekend covers the Easter holidays as well as the King’s birthday holiday. It is a norm that some citizens leave their properties for various destinations during the Easter holidays. It is also a norm that, being the Hub of the Kingdom, the City of Manzini receives a number of visitors during these holidays. Royal Eswatini Police Service Manzini Regional Coordinator for Community Safety, Assistant Superintendent Samkeliso Msweli, shared the following safety and security tips to citizens of Manzini, both property owners and tenants;
- Make sure to leave someone in your house or home. Leaving the lights switched on does not work anymore. Instead, having lights switched on day and night gives a signal that there is no one at home.
- Always keep the garage door closed. Same with the gate to your residence.
- Notify your neighbour that you will be away. This will make the neighbour alert you or the police in the event they see something suspicious in your residence.
- The Easter holidays are characterised by church services. Churches are urged to ensure there is security personnel keeping guard of vehicles at the parking lot. It is also advisable that congregants be in groups when they walk to and from church.
- Please take care of visitors to the city and be hospitable. Give them directions to their destinations where necessary.
…COUNCIL COMMEMORATES WORLD HEALTH DAY 2022
As part of World Health Day commemoration, which was held last Thursday under the theme “One Planet, Our Health”, the Municipal Council of Manzini visited three private pre-schools to sensitise and educate pupils on the significance of personal hygiene such as hand washing etiquette, waste management, food quality and safety. The schools that were visited are, namely; Shosholoza Pre-School, Tiny Angels Pre-School and Beautiful Beginnings Pre-School. The exercise also covered seven social centres (also referred to as soup kitchens), namely; Ticancweni, Ngwane Park, Zakhele, Madonsa, Magwaneni, Murray Camp, and Moneni social centres. Furthermore, the pupils had the vitamin C supplement administered to them as the flu season is already knocking. The Municipality also donated first aid kits to the seven (7) social centres. The Municipality would like appreciate Swaziland Milling and Price Rite who supported the event by donating food parcels to the social centres. The following photos were taken during the event…