At its monthly meeting on 9 February 2021, the Marina da Gama Association Executive Committee (MDGA ExCom) agreed to increase members’ levies from R650 to R700, effective 1 March 2021, and payable by 31st March 2021.
Given the tough economic conditions, we did not take this decision lightly and we did whatever we could to limit the increase to less than R1 per week. This means that your levies have risen by just R60 over the last two years following 2020’s R10 increase. Furthermore, we believe that R700 per year – or less than R2 per day – represents excellent value for money.
Where does your R700 go?
The increase comes as the ExCom’s operating expenses also continue to increase alongside an increasingly busy work schedule. Here is just a snapshot of where we spend your money:
Security
We have spent about R200,000 on procuring cameras using funds from our reserves, while the monthly monitoring costs are over R10,000, or R120,000 annually.
Parks & Open Spaces
To date, the annual cost of employing the Marina’s gardening team has run at around R70,000. But as the City of Cape Town (CoCT) steps back from its obligation to maintain our parks and open spaces, this figure is set to double as we fill the gap.
Communications
The cost of keeping residents fully informed is around R52,000 annually. This cost covers the recent upgrade of our website (mdga.co.za), the production of our quarterly magazine, and managing our various online communication channels. Phase 2 of the upgrade is set to start this month.
MDGA office
Rental on the MDGA office in Eastlake shopping centre is R66,000 a year. The cost of employing our two office staff, Marcia Fritz and Robbie Johnston, is around R260,000 a year.
Of course, the value of the office is not only financial. It’s the place where residents can access Archcom’s professional and impartial guidance on their buildings and alterations. It’s the principal channel for communicating with CoCT’s key decision-makers and officials and acts as a repository for the Marina’s history. Furthermore, the MDGA office is where residents can express their concerns and always receive a sympathetic hearing.
We are conscious that we can always do more to ensure residents receive maximum returns on their levy payments. In the interests of transparency, we encourage residents to access the profit and loss statement and financials that we publish every month.