All areas in various districts are now Rating Areas
Published on: Thursday, October 23, 2014
KOTA KINABALU: All areas under the respective districts throughout Sabah are now considered Rating Areas (Kawasan Perkadaran) under the local authorities (PBTs) such as District Councils and Municipal Councils said Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.He said this at the closing of a two-day Sabah Local Authorities Convention here.According to him, the State Cabinet approved this a few years ago but that it was up to the wisdom of the respective PBTs to implement or enforce it in stages.
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He said that prior to the 'Blanket Approval' by the State Cabinet, the approval process was only ad hoc or case by case in nature."For example, in the past if a local authority wants to enlarge its rating area so as to cover a new development areas be it housing, industrial or commercial, it had to apply to the State Government through the Ministry of Local Government and Housing (KKTP) for the expansion of the rating area. "But this was found to be time-consuming, inefficient and not practical. "So now, with the 'Blanket Approval', a local authority no longer has to go through the Cabinet. It only needs the Minister's approval," he pointed out.
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Senior officers from the Districts Councils throughout the State including from the Sandakan and Tawau Municipal Councils attended the convention that was organised by the Ministry. The last time such a convention was held was in 2011.Meanwhile, Hajiji also instructed all local authorities to immediately create websites or Facebook or Whatsapp accounts so that the public could lodge their complaints especially in urgent or emergency cases during non-office hours or weekends.
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"There are certain things that simply cannot wait until the next working day such as fallen trees during bad weather, flash floods, animal carcasses on the road, and so on," he said.Nevertheless, he said local authorities must open the channels so that the rate-payers can interact with them. He said this should not pose as a problem considering the current technology and availability of the internet. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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