NARRA-Northern Area Ratepayers and Residents Association

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NARRA-Northern Area Ratepayers and Residents Association "We are a committee of dedicated rate payers who are committed to improving our community

"We are a committee of dedicated rate payers who are committed to improving our community. Our mission is to work together to identify and address the needs and concerns of our fellow residents, and to promote positive change through effective communication and action. Join us as we strive to make our community a better place for all who call it home."

21/10/2026

**NARRA: Questions for Every Party Asking for Our Vote**

Ahead of the local government elections, candidates are coming to our halls asking for our support. NARRA will be there, and these are the questions we will put to every party: the IFP, the DA, the ANC, and every other party that wants our votes. No party gets a free pass. Every single party will be held accountable.

**1. The ward debt-based report**
This report would have shown who pays and who isn't paying, ward by ward. It was not a political move; it came out of what was exposed in SCOPA. How did your councillors vote, and why?

**2. Write-offs**
Write-offs are not a political tool. They are governed by the MFMA. Will your party stop promising write-offs to win votes?

**3. Paying residents carrying the city**
Around 40% of the city is paying for the 60% that don't, because politicians promised free lights and free water. What will your party do to fix this, instead of loading more onto paying residents?

**4. Race and "affluent" labels**
When the ward debt report came up, some parties called paying residents rich and affluent, while those making the claim live in areas with better houses than ours. Did your party vote alongside them? Using race to justify a vote divides us, and it will never sit well.

**5. Your record in power**
Parties that have held power in Msunduzi and in the province had the chance to make changes. Why didn't you?

**6. Where were you?**
Did your candidate attend ward meetings, tariff objection meetings, or IDP meetings? If you weren't there when it mattered, why should we vote for you now?

**7. Disconnections**
When disconnection vehicles roll into our areas, residents are left on their own. Where is your party then?

**8. The 2021 electricity outage**
Insurance money was paid out after the 2021 outage. Did your party ever follow up on what happened to it?

**9. Our community facilities**
What has your party done for the Northern Areas' pools, halls, and crematorium? When residents fought for the crematorium, where were your councillors?

**10. Who you answer to**
We are facing high petrol prices, high food prices, and now exorbitant rates on Msunduzi. Remember that when you vote in council, it is us, the ratepayers, who pay your salaries.

**Our message to all parties**
We are tired of candidates and parties that make promises at election time and disappear afterwards. Handing out food at campaign events doesn't make you a councillor. A councillor is someone we can call on in hard times, and who stands with the community when things get hard with the municipality.

Please don't think you can hoodwink our residents. We are going to educate them.

**NARRA will always be here to hold every single party accountable.**

21/10/2026

**To everyone attending the political meetings this election season**

Whether you're meeting your current councillor or a new candidate for your ward, whichever party they represent, go prepared. Ask the parties, not just the candidates. Every party that has sat in council shares responsibility for where this city is today.

**Ask about their record.**
How did your party vote on the decisions that affect our bills and our services? Tariffs, budgets, reports on how wards are being managed. If they say "that's in the past," it is not. You are paying for those decisions right now, every month. The ward and PR councillors who voted in council must answer for them.

**Ask about housing and land.**
What is your plan for informal settlements in Msunduzi? People living there deserve dignity and proper housing. But settlements are growing with no control, while ratepayers must pay rates and get approved plans for their own homes. What is fair about that?

**Ask about services and payment.**
A minority of residents is carrying the cost of services for everyone. We're tired of hearing "we'll get people to pay." What exactly will you do, and by when? Pietermaritzburg doesn't have a cost problem; it has a volume problem. Promises of free services win votes but leave the people funding this city to carry the burden.

**Ask about respect for ratepayers.**
Who do you see as your constituents? Parties are quick to come asking for our vote, then neglect us once in office. Don't come with talk that divides communities. Come with answers.

**Most importantly, ask them straight: why should you have our vote?**

Go to these meetings. Listen carefully. Then ask the questions that matter to your household and your street.

20/10/2026

KNOW HOW YOUR PARTY VOTED 🗳️

Many of us have felt the tariff increases on our municipal bills. So where did they come from?

When the budget containing these increases came before council, this is how the parties voted:

✅ Voted FOR the budget: ANC and IFP
➖ Abstained: PA and EFF
❌ Voted AGAINST: DA and ACDP

As party representatives start visiting our communities ahead of the elections, ask them directly: Why did your party vote for this budget?

Some will say, "That's in the past." But it isn't — it's what every household is paying now, every single month.

Remember, this isn't just about the individual councillor candidate. It's about the party they serve under, and how that party votes when it matters.

Ask the hard questions. Hold them accountable. Make an informed vote. 🗳️

19/10/2026

Dear Residents 🗳️

In the coming weeks you'll see many parties that never once served this community suddenly showing up here, asking for your vote.
Please remember: some of these parties voted for your tariff increases. Some voted against the ward-based debt report because they feared how it would land with their own voters.

So when you attend their meetings, ask them directly:

• Why did you vote with the ruling party in council to increase our tariffs?

• Why did you put more strain on households that already pay?
And if they say "that's the past, we'll fix it", don't accept it. It's not the past. You're paying those tariffs right now.

Questions for every councillor candidate:

• If your party stops serving our community, will you risk your seat and stand up for residents, even give it up? Or are you just there for the salary?

• How have you served us over the last 4 years? Not just showing up at a power outage or a building site. Where were you when we protested outside City Hall? We didn't see you. Where were you when tariffs went up? Did you show up?

Know your facts. Find out which parties voted for the tariff increases and which abstained. Then ask them, face to face.

Be bold. Ask the questions. Your vote, your power. 💪🏽

Dont be fooled
13/10/2026

Dont be fooled

13/10/2026

PUBLIC NOTICE: DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE R250 MILLION WRITE-OFF ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear Residents,

Many of you will have seen the Mayor on the Msunduzi Municipality page announcing R250 million in write-offs. Please don't be fooled.

In 2024, many of you attended the sessions he held at various venues, including the Civic and Truro. To date, many of those residents have still not received their write-offs. Now, with elections approaching, the same promise is suddenly being made again.

Meanwhile, residents who go to the AS Chetty Building are being told by revenue managers that these write-offs are not happening. Both cannot be true. Somebody needs to answer.

NARRA has submitted over 250 applications on behalf of our residents. We have not received feedback on a single one.

Let us be clear:
• Write-offs are not a favour from any politician. They are governed by the Municipal Systems Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
• The Mayor cannot make this decision alone. Write-offs above R1 million must be approved by Council.

So we ask the Mayor and the Municipality directly: When was this R250 million write-off approved by Council? Please provide the date and the Council resolution.

Until we see that, this is nothing more than cheap politicking and campaigning at the expense of residents who are struggling.

Residents, know your rights, ask questions, and don't be fooled.

Issued by NARRA (Northern Areas Residents and Ratepayers Association)

🎓💚 A MESSAGE OF GOOD LUCK FROM NARRA! 💚🎓To all our matriculants writing their final examinations, we wish you the very b...
13/10/2026

🎓💚 A MESSAGE OF GOOD LUCK FROM NARRA! 💚🎓

To all our matriculants writing their final examinations, we wish you the very best! 🌟📚

You have worked hard, sacrificed, studied late, and overcome challenges to reach this important milestone. Now is the time to believe in yourselves, stay focused, and give it your very best.

Remember, your final results are important, but they do not define your worth or limit your potential. Walk into every examination room with confidence, courage, and determination. Take a deep breath, trust your preparation, and tackle each paper one question at a time.

From all of us at NARRA – Northern Areas Ratepayers and Residents Association, we are rooting for you! ❤️

You are the future of our community, and we believe in the bright possibilities that lie ahead of you. May God grant you wisdom, strength, peace of mind, and success throughout your examinations. 🙏✨

Dream big. Work hard. Believe in yourself. Your future is full of possibilities!

💚 Empower. Engage. Transform! 💚

Good luck, Class of 2026! YOU'VE GOT THIS! 🎓🏆

05/10/2026

*Hi everyone* 👋

We're now in the thick of election season, with *29 days to go* before the local government elections. Many promises are being made, and I'd like to caution our community about one in particular: *promises of debt write-offs.*

Please be very careful about what is being promised to you. We heard the same promises during the last national elections from the ruling party, the ANC, and they were not delivered. Some residents are *still* waiting for their write-offs today.

Write-offs are *not a campaign tool.* They are provided for in municipal policy and must follow a proper legal process under the MFMA. *That process happens in council*, through council resolutions and approved policies.

So ask yourself: *how can a party that doesn't even have a seat in council promise you a write-off?*

This applies to *every* party. Before you rush to fill in forms or hand over your details, ask questions:
✅ Do they have a seat in council?
✅ What policy or process will they follow?
✅ What have they actually delivered before?

Be informed. Be cautious. Vote wisely. 🗳️

NARRA-Northern Area Ratepayers and Residents Association

05/10/2026

GBV IS NOT YOUR ELECTION PROP

Something has been troubling me about how these local government elections are playing out.

Suddenly, candidates are appearing from every corner. Many of them have never been present in this community, and now they want to serve it. But service does not start at election time. If you lose, will you still be here doing the work?

What troubles me most is how politicians are now using GBV for politicking. For years, this pandemic has been allowed to continue in our country and in our city. Now ministers are being brought in, including the Minister of Police, for carefully arranged meetings filled with ANC members. But when women needed you most, you were nowhere to be seen.

Let me be clear: many activists and organisations have been fighting at the heart of GBV for years, long before any election, and I honour them. My concern is with those who are suddenly arriving on the backs of these organisations and using their work for politicking.

What have you done to fix the judicial system? A protection order is still just a piece of paper. We must not be fooled by ministers who are only arriving now. These are the same leaders who have turned South Africa into a mafia state, and GBV is part of that failure.

It is not an honour for you to come here with your Minister of Police after allowing this to continue for years.

Women are dying. Between April and June this year alone, 9,201 rapes were reported in South Africa. That is more than 100 every day, and these are only the cases that were reported. We cannot forget the murders in Nkuleni, or the many women killed by men they knew. Now that the issue is in the public eye and it is election time, you want to jump on the bandwagon.

Sorry, sir. Sorry, ma'am. That will not happen.

South Africans are not blind. I am not fooled, and I will not support cheap politicking.

Real change starts inside Parliament and Cabinet, and it has not happened yet. Our judicial system and our police fail women every single day. Get your house in order. If you do not know how to run this country, step aside. Leaders who are not conscious of what is happening to women should not be in Parliament.

Thank you.

Brunetta Pillay
NARRA-Northern Area Ratepayers and Residents Association

Good evening 🙏community I would like say a heartfelt thank you to Councillor Renisha Singh and the Ward 28 Ward Committe...
22/08/2026

Good evening 🙏community

I would like say a heartfelt thank you to Councillor Renisha Singh and the Ward 28 Ward Committee — especially Naz and Ravi — for putting together such a spectacular GBV event this afternoon. It was exactly what our community needed.

Prayer was such a powerful part of it, because if anything can help a situation, it is prayer. It was beautiful to see us come together as a community across different faiths, standing united for one cause.

We hope the wider community takes heed and joins the next event. We're often quick to ask "what is being done?" — but when something is done, we don't always show up, and that's sad. It's time we take a stand together instead of running away from what's happening socially in our community.

Thank you again, Councillor for your efforts and commitment along with your team to a worthy cause. A truly brilliant event, and we foresee great things ahead for you guys Faith over fear 🙏

Brunetta Pillay
NARRA-Northern Area Ratepayers and Residents Association

Address

Northdale
Pietermaritzburg
3201

Telephone

+27828770553

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