President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday signed into law the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Amendment Bill, which seeks to regulate the power of municipalities to levy development charges.

The Bill also establishes a system for municipalities to impose levies for land development applications as a condition for granting or approval of such an application for persons to use or develop land in a municipality.

The Bill will ensure accountability and transparency in the establishment, collection and expenditure of development charges, while also providing for a uniform regulatory framework to ensure that at least the basis for, principles and method of calculation will be the same across municipalities.

The Bill empowers municipalities, where authorised by national legislation, to impose taxes, levies and duties appropriate to local government.

Ramaphosa also signed the National Land Transport Amendment Bill, which seeks to amend the National Land Transport Act, 2009, to insert certain definitions and amend others and provide for non-motorised and accessible transport.

“…the amendments bring the Principal Act up to date with new developments and provide for certain powers of provinces and municipalities to conclude contracts for public transport services. It further expands the powers of the Minister to make regulations and introduce safety measures,” he said.

The Bill was initially passed by Parliament and sent to the President for assent in 2020.

He explained that owing to constitutional reservations he referred the Bill back to the National Assembly for reconsideration in terms of Section 79(1) of the Constitution.

He also signed the Economic Regulation of Transport Bill, which seeks to promote economic growth and welfare of South Africans by promoting an effective and productive transport sector.

“That includes establishing a Transport Economic Regulator responsible for regulating prices in the transport sector, investigating complaints, and monitoring and enforcing compliance in the transport sector,” said Ramaphosa.

He noted that the Bill further sought to establish a single regulatory body to focus on the economic regulation of the transport industry.