Concerns over George budget

The 2025/26 George budget has been rejected by the Garden Route Ratepayers' Alliance (GRRA) and Business Café after the concerns they had submitted to the George Municipality during the public participation process have to date not been responded to.

- Alida de Beer

Jacques Wessels, chairperson of the GRRA, says one of their main concerns is that the rates and taxes have been raised at double the inflation rate. "We want to know why?"

The municipality says the influx of people into the city necessitates increased spending, but a large portion of the infrastructure expansion spend is received as grants from National Government, and in addition, new private developments pay high capital contributions to the municipality. Furthermore, the more people there are, the more people pay rates, raising the income of the municipality. We want to know what percentages of these incomes are spent on what."