“You Can’t Tax What You Don’t Service”: Tshwane Cleansing Levy Scrapped by Court

Pretoria residents win big as the High Court exposes the City’s unlawful attempt to fill a budget gap

For almost a quarter of a million residents in Tshwane, the R194 cleaning levy slapped onto their monthly bills felt like a punch in the gut—especially considering many never even saw a municipal rubbish truck in their area. This week, the Gauteng High Court gave those residents what they’ve been waiting for: justice.

In a blistering judgment that tore into the City of Tshwane’s legal reasoning, administration, and lack of accountability, Judge George Avvakoumides ruled the monthly cleansing levy unlawful and ordered the city to refund anyone who has already paid it.

A Levy With No Legs to Stand On

Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just about trash. It was about trust.

According to the court, Tshwane tried to justify the cleaning levy by referencing a mysterious by-law from 2016—one it couldn’t produce in court. To make matters worse, the city submitted thousands of pages of mostly irrelevant documents, failed to directly address its legal obligations, and fielded a legal team whose senior advocate was nowhere to be found during parts of the hearing.

The court called out the city for trying to pass off the levy as a legitimate surcharge, despite the fact that there was no base charge to begin with, a legal requirement for such a fee. In plain terms, it was a legal house of cards.

AfriForum: “You Call It a Levy, We Call It Punishment”

The civic group AfriForum, which brought the case to court, argued that many Tshwane residents and businesses already pay private companies to handle their trash, often going so far as to recycle or separate their waste themselves. In some areas, the city doesn’t collect certain kinds of waste at all, like steel or hazardous chemicals leaving people with no choice but to look elsewhere.

And yet, these same residents were being charged a levy for a service they weren’t getting.

AfriForum didn’t just point out the irony, they also provided evidence that the city’s budget already collects funds for the broader waste ecosystem: through landfill fees, waste permits, and even property rates.

Court: The City Was Funding Its Budget on the Backs of the Public

In a sharp rebuke, the court said the levy had nothing to do with cleaning and everything to do with plugging a long-standing budget shortfall. Tshwane, the court said, was effectively punishing residents who had taken it upon themselves to follow the law and dispose of waste responsibly.

The judgment also emphasized that the city failed to engage the community meaningfully, in violation of the Municipal Systems Act, which encourages participation, not penalisation.

A Pattern of Missteps and U-Turns

Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time Tshwane tried to pull this move. Back in 2017, under a different administration, a similar proposal was dropped after AfriForum pushed back.

Even in this case, the city flip-flopped mid-way through, suddenly claiming that waste removal was available to everyone and painting non-users as “free loaders”, a claim the court rejected outright.

What Now for the City and Its R540 Million Hole?

The ruling leaves the City of Tshwane with a massive financial headache: a R540 million shortfall in its already-fragile budget. This comes at a time when the ActionSA-led administration had just begun boasting about finally having a funded municipal budget after years of instability.

The loss also comes amid growing national scrutiny over municipal levies. A similar case is brewing in Cape Town, where the South African Property Owners Association is challenging three additional charges—one of them being, again, a “cleaning levy.”

Local Reaction: “At Last, Accountability”

Social media in Pretoria has been buzzing with relief, memes, and no small amount of side-eye at the city’s handling of the case.

“Imagine paying R194 a month to be called a free loader,” one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote.

Another joked, “Can Tshwane also refund me for all the times I had to be the waste collector?”

The Bigger Picture: Municipal Finance on Trial

This case is more than a legal technicality, it’s a referendum on how cities manage public funds and engage with their residents. With budgets under strain, some municipalities are reaching for new sources of revenue without laying the legal groundwork or respecting the people footing the bill.

Tshwane just learned that lesson the hard way. And for now, its residents can finally take a breath, without the stench of a dodgy levy hanging in the air.