17 January 2005 Press Release REPLY TO STATEMENT MADE BY ATTORNEY ROBIN MARTINDALE REGARDING MESSAGES TO LANDLORDS CONTAINED ON STATEMENTS ISSUED BY CITY OF JOHANNESBURG We note the statement made by Mr Robert Martindale and disagree that the statement message is intended to mislead ratepayers. If the statement creates any misconceptions in so far as the Constitutional Court judgement (handed down on 6 October 2004) is concerned, these misconceptions are unintentional and are regretted. We wish to emphasize that the intention of the message on the statements is twofold, firstly, to ensure that landlords are made aware of their responsibility so that they would not be unpleasantly surprised when they attempt to sell their property and find there are outstanding customer amounts to be paid before the transfer can take place; and secondly, to advise landlords that they are entitled to request duplicate accounts. It is our intention to point out the practical effect of the judgement to ratepayers, and that practical effect is that in certain circumstances landlords may have to see to it that tenant's arrears are taken care of before their property can be sold. Unfortunately space constraints do not allow for a detailed explanation of the 83-page Constitutional Court judgement. However, the full judgement is available on the City's website at www.joburg.org.za. We find it regrettable that Mr Martindate has chosen to focus on an unintentional possible misconception rather than the true purpose of the statement which is to alert the general public to the practical consequences of the Constitutional Court judgement. Issued by: Mandy Jean Woods Director: Marketing and Communications Department of Revenue City of Johannesburg Phone: 407 7356 Fax: 403 7738 Cell: 082 553 4211 (Please send sms if urgent) Email: mandyw@joburg.org.za