The municipality’s flip-flop on the decision to lower the cap on the pensioner rebate is in some ways a victory and in others it is not.
Dr Sutcliffe has pulled the classic political version of bait and switch. What he did was get everyone worked up about the proposed lowering of the pensioner rebate cap from R3M down to R2M with rumours of it even going down to R1M. Then after all the objections were received Dr Sutcliffe came out to say that he had decided to leave the pensioner rebate as it is. Then, everyone who opposed the lowering of the cap claims victory and it looks as though Dr Sutcliffe and the municipality have heard the rumblings and actually done something for the pensioners, when in fact they have done nothing. The pensioners were hurting financially under the current policy, and were in fact looking for relief in the new policy not more of the same.
This is a common tactic used by politicians, they propose something drastic that they have no intention of following through with and after the public outcry they say they have decided not to follow through thereby winning over those who think they have actually received something, when they are right back where they started.
Unfortunately the pensioners of eThekwini have won nothing, contrary to recent news headlines they are not getting any relief. They are simply where they were before this debate began, and Dr Sutcliffe walks away seeming as though he has given them something.
The DA’s position remains the same, that there should be no cap on the pensioner rebate and the rebate should be calculated on the pensioners income on a sliding scale, and not be tied to the value of their property. |
