Petitions, statements and condemnation: Cape Town's draft budget controversy explained
As the deadline looms for public comment on the City of Cape Town's 2025/2026 draft budget, several questions have been raised over the proposed levies and increases. Daily Maverick explains what's going on.
With public participation closing on Friday, 2 May 2025, for the City of Cape Town's draft 2025/2026 budget, there has been an outcry from both political parties and civic organisations about the planned tariff increases.
At the same time, the City says this is an 'Invested in Hope' budget that serves as a balancing act between building a Cape Town of the future while protecting the most vulnerable residents.
The draft budget was initially tabled on 27 March for public participation. Initially, criticism was raised by the lobby group Stop Coct, which says it aims to promote accountability in the City's affairs.
Since then, public commentary and civic action has increased around the draft budget. Daily Maverick unpacks some of the contestation around it.
What is at the root of this issue?
The City proposed new charges, including fixed charges such as:
Electricity fixed charge of R339.89.
Water fixed charge linked to property value.
Sewerage fixed charge linked to property value.
City-wide cleaning charge linked to property value.
There was a property rates increase of 7.96%, which Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said was 'to cover the major growth in more policing resources for a safer Cape Town — accounting for a third of every rand paid in property rates — as well as the major infrastructure investments in roads and community amenities'.
This did not sit well with civic organisations and opposition parties.
Speaking to Daily Maverick on Wednesday morning, Michael Jacobs, the deputy chairperson of the Mitchell's Plain United Residents Association, said: 'We think that the the levy, on your property and your rent, is punitive and that it is illegal and the City should scrap all of these ideas that they've got and the fixed amount of electricity. Even if you're on prepaid that also needs to be scrapped.
'We are 100% not in favour of this budget,' he said.
Jacobs said the City was 'putting on extra levies when it comes to water, sanitation, and then they have the city-wide cleaning tariff, which we think is illegal, and we also see that they want to have this, all of these fixed charges linked to the value of your property.'
Mitchells Plain residents were not the only ones who raised objections. During ward outreaches, residential associations from Noordhoek also raised objections to the proposed levies, according to the False Bay Echo. The same was for Brackenfell, where Tygerberger reported on a fiery meeting about the budget.
What does the City of Cape Town say about it?
On 23 April, in a statement issued by the City, Hill-Lewis said analysis of the budget showed that 'even after the proposed 2025/26 increases are taken into account, Cape Town still offers the lowest total municipal bills of all major cities based on proposed rates and tariffs for properties under R5-million, along with the most functional services and largest infrastructure investment programme'.
'While Cape Town delivers value for money in a functional, working City, the exact opposite is happening in other metros where residents are paying more and more for broken services and collapsing infrastructure,' he said.
Writing in Daily Maverick on Wednesday, the mayor expanded on the City's plans, as well as addressing the concerns around the rate increases.
He said: 'While we have deliberately designed this budget to protect families in the R1-million to R2.5-million property value bracket, we recognise that it is also true that those living in more valuable properties are not necessarily well off.'
Enter the politicians and a call for an extension
Several political parties have entered the fray around the increases. During last week's Western Cape Legislature sitting, parties such as the African National Congress (ANC) and the National Coloured Congress raised several questions around the DA fighting the VAT hike while at the same time increasing rates and introducing levies.
In a Facebook Live message, Patriotic Alliance leader and Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie said he owned a home in Cape Town and told his followers: 'If they (the DA) care so much about the poor, why are they raising rates and taxes?'
Build One South Africa, which has no council seats, started a petition for residents to express their frustration over the rate increases.
After this week's blitz of interviews by the mayor, Anton Louw, a member of the Good party and city councillor, said the City of Cape Town should extend the public comment period.
On Wednesday morning, Louw said: 'In a last-ditch attempt to soften public backlash, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis recently announced that the City is 'looking at additional support to owners of properties up to R7-million'.'
He said Good urged residents not to be 'bamboozled by the City's creative budgeting, misleading PR spin, and phoney redistribution promises'.
He went further to say that the City was pretending to be a Robin Hood — 'wanting residents to believe the draft budget has the welfare of the poor at heart, but it is actually just spin camouflaging the fact that the City wants to charge ratepayers a new set of tariffs that dwarf inflation'.
He claimed that unlike Robin Hood, who robbed the rich to help the poor, 'the Cape Town budget fleeces both rich and working-class households without making meaningful improvements to services or expanding support for Cape Town's most vulnerable residents'.
What next?
'Following 2 May 2025, public comments will be considered and responded to, with the City's budget due to be considered for adoption by Council on 29 May,' the City has said. DM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Despite Paul Mashatile's ‘clean-up', Kliptown remains a symbol of service delivery failure
Widely celebrated for being the site of the conception of the Freedom Charter, Kliptown in Soweto is a symbol of absolute disregard. A recent visit by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero offered little recognition of the residents' daily hardships. Kliptown, Soweto, a cornerstone in the creation of the Freedom Charter, now finds itself in stark contradiction to the very principles it helped establish. While the charter champions equality and dignity, the community's neglected living conditions tell a story of persistent disregard and unfulfilled promises. Deputy President Paul Mashatile, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero came face to face with the struggles of Kliptown's Freedom Square informal settlement during the launch of a clean-up campaign last week. A group of community members watched scornfully from their shacks as Mashatile toured the Kliptown Youth Programme facility, which has improved and continues to improve the lives of residents through various self-funded initiatives like education and meals. In a community devastated by poverty, unemployment and lawlessness, the Kliptown Youth Programme is a beacon of hope. There are few other signs of service delivery or development in the area. Walter Sisulu Square In May 2024, Daily Maverick reported on the persistent vandalism at the Walter Sisulu Memorial Square, a gradually declining tourist attraction that honours the signing of the 1955 Freedom Charter. 'The Walter Sisulu square isn't just falling victim to crime,' a community member who asked to remain anonymous told Daily Maverick last week. 'It's also being damaged by frustrated community members. Since its inception, many locals have felt that the township, despite its modest size, should have been prioritised for development over a multimillion-rand investment in the square. This lingering sentiment has fuelled a cycle of neglect and vandalism,' she said. Referring to Mashatile, Lesufi and Morero's visit, she said: 'We cannot betray our consciences and be part of that gathering. We are not hypocrites… We have no business there.' The Walter Sisulu Memorial Square was opened by then president Thabo Mbeki in 2005 at a cost of R160-million. Its precinct also included the Soweto Hotel, which is no longer operational due to the area's decline. Responding to Daily Maverick in February 2025 on whether the City of Johannesburg had plans to renovate the Walter Sisulu Memorial Square, spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said: 'Yes, in Kliptown the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication, the historic site of the adoption of the Freedom Charter, will be renovated and restored by the Joburg Property Company.' When Daily Maverick visited last week, there was no sign that the renovations had begun. At the time of writing, the City had not sent responses to Daily Maverick's recent questions on Walter Sisulu Square and the poor state of Kliptown. It's not the only symbol of Kliptown's heritage of shame. Charlotte Maxeke House, the home of the 'mother of black freedom in South Africa', is also in ruins. A visit by Mashatile last week to the dilapidated house left little hope that it will be renovated. Near the house stood a faded promise, quite literally. A billboard proudly proclaimed 'Charlotte Maxeke House to be renovated', yet time has had its way with both the building and the sign. As time passes without progress, the peeling paint on the hoarding becomes a visual metaphor for broken promises. Lack of water and power 'We are often without water, and it's not safe because when shacks burn, which is often, especially now in winter, we use water to extinguish the fires. We have not received water tanks in a very long time. We often go to bed without any water. Imagine if a shack burns at night, we'd be helpless,' said Thandi Vilakai, 51, a resident of Kliptown's Freedom Square informal settlement. Vilakazi, who has been living in the area for more than a decade, told Daily Maverick that the water and electricity struggles in the area were so dire that they often had to go as far as Dlamini to get water. 'We have to duck traffic and go across the road in search of what should be a basic provision,' she said. 'As for electricity, we have never been connected to the grid. We are wholly dependent on paraffin stoves.' An elderly lady told Mashatile and Morero about the area's electricity woes. Mashatile asked about the large cables that were hanging low overhead and if they provided electricity. He was told they were illegal electricity connections. Kliptown's electricity woes are well documented. Freedom Square has never had an electricity connection. In 2017, Daily Maverick reported on the community's electricity problems and how other community members had turned their misery into a business. The area also lacks basic sanitary provisions such as toilets. Unemployment and unfinished projects Crime in the area is also very high, something residents have attributed to the high unemployment rate. They complain that there is also a high school dropout rate among the youth. 'Here, when we say we are working, we'd be talking about small opportunities created by non-profit organisations. That's the only work available for our residents,' community leader Thabang Nkwanyana said. Struggling to find employment, Nkwanyana and some friends established a brick-making business. They now make bricks from clear plastic bottles, which Nkwanyana said had helped put food on the table for their families. According to residents, projects that had been undertaken in the area have stalled, but residents have no idea why. One such project was the rehabilitation of Union Road, which should be the biggest street in Freedom Square. The road rehabilitation was earmarked to last six months, but nearly a year later, there are still trenches everywhere. 'This project was announced by former mayor Kabelo Gwamanda during his reign. The project is now running in its 10th or 11th month,' Nkwanyana said. The City also started a process of 'reblocking' in the informal settlement. It refers to rearranging shacks that are closely huddled together to add driveways and improve access. In many informal settlements, reblocking provides a psychological boost, reinforcing the idea that progress is taking hold. According to residents, the reblocking of their shacks in Freedom Square has also stalled. 'We do not know why they stopped,' resident Bheki Hadebe said. DM
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Assessing the DA's push for policing devolution in South Africa
The DA said they want the government to devolve some police powers to the provinces and cities Image: Supplied / SAPS The call to devolve some police powers to the provinces and metro councils, has been a drum beaten by the Democratic Alliance (DA) for some time. But will it make a difference or is just about the DA thinking that they can do it better than the ANC? The DA runs the Western Cape province as well as the City of Cape Town and has within the Government of National Unity, the chairmanship of the police portfolio committee in parliament. The province and city is racked by gang violence, and there is frustration that the national police can't seem to get a handle on it. Michael Jacobs of the Mitchell's Plain United Residents Association (MURA) said that every day in a suburb on the Cape Flats, a life is lost through gang and gun violence. 'These violent incidents sketch a picture of abnormality, fear, and the sheer brutality faced by ordinary residents on the streets. "We need to acknowledge that all levels of government - national, provincial, and municipal - have failed our bullet-ridden and gang-infested communities on the Cape Flats, Atlantis, Paarl, and elsewhere where gangsterism thrives. 'No amount of political theatrics and political spin will take away the fear, blood on our streets, death and open coffins on the Cape Flats of Fear,' Jacobs said. The Cty wants the ability investigate gang-related violence, firearm offences, extortion, and drug trafficking. It wants to have the power to collect its own crime intelligence; its own forensic laboratory testing centres to test firearms; participation in the Cooperation Agreement task team, between Province and police and endorse the establishment of a joint technical workstream comprising representatives from various stakeholders. Mzwakhe Nqavashe, chairperson of the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee within the City Council said communities are plagued by crime at all levels and it is clear that more is needed – from the South African Police Service and the City. SAPS does not have the manpower, and the City's uniformed staff do not have the power to undertake investigations. Professor Isaac Khambule from the University of Johannesburg, who lectures on political economy, said the DA 's idea smacks of neoliberalism. 'The fact is they say it should be the private sector that is running all of these particular functions, as we've seen in the case of Prasa, because they tried to bring in more private stakeholders. And we've seen the president giving in to some of these demands, such as bringing private players on by Transnet. 'So, at this particular moment, I think we just need to look at one avenue that says, 'yes, it is something that the DA has been pushing for', but since they were swallowed by the GNU, they did not necessarily have space to push for the kind of reforms that they wanted." DA Safety and Security Mayco member JP Smith said the Council's portfolio committee on safety and security passed a motion on June 4 to initiate an intergovernmental dispute. He also touted the city's emergency call centre, handing over 16,000 incidents to SAPS in the past 100 days alone, amid 'ongoing collapse of the national 10111 system'. 'We're stepping in where others are failing, and doing more to keep our residents safe.' Given the DA's majority in the city council, the motion calling for the devolution is likely to pass. However, Khambule has added that the DA's chances of getting the devolution are slim, as it could set a dangerous precedent. 'If they do allow this particular devolution, then it is likely to be more push for the entire Western Cape to be independent. 'It is not just an issue of the ANC not allowing it, but it is also about all the political players within Parliament who are not going to allow this particular devolution to happen, because tomorrow then you are seeding power to certain sub-national structures that may not necessarily be competent in addressing these issues.'
Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Drama, deals, disregard – how another 12,000 Nelson Mandela Bay ratepayers were denied a capital budget
In this second report in our series on wards in Nelson Mandela Bay receiving a zero capital budget, Ward 39 is a large residential area that includes suburbs and the peri-urban area of Theescombe. Some of its residents pay the highest rates in Nelson Mandela Bay, and yet its capital budget was reduced from R1.5m to nothing. When Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe joined the residents of Ward 39 at their integrated development plan meeting, she presented them with the 2024 budget instead of the 2025/6 budget. In that 2024 budget, the ward had a capital budget of R1.5-million – but ward councillor Margaret de Andrade and her ward committee soon pointed out to Lobishe that she was presenting the wrong budget. 'I told her there is a zero under capital budget in the new budget,' De Andrade said. 'We received nothing but R100,000 for a humanitarian fund that is almost impossible to access.' The R1.5-millon referred to by Lobishe had, in any event, already been spent on resurfacing part of a crucial road, adding traffic calming measures and fixing a busy sidewalk. This is the second ward in the metro, with mostly ratepaying residents, whose budget has been cut to zero. Ward 8, covering Lorraine, a densely populated area, also had its capital budget reduced to zero. The Nelson Mandela Bay council was to meet for the third time on Thursday to try to pass the budget. But according to a letter seen by Daily Maverick, even the National Treasury has become worried about the numbers – the metro's collection rate is at 73% and the budget is based on a collection rate of 76%. This means that there is a shortfall of R1.3-billion. Grants totalling R900-million from the national government that could have been used for capital projects were returned unspent in the past two financial years. For the current financial year, the metro has only spent 38% of its R1.9-billion capital expenditure budget. While the four wards that received zero capital budgets are wards with Democratic Alliance councillors, De Andrade, who sits on the budget and treasury subcommittee, said many ANC councillors were unhappy with the budgets for their wards. 'Hugely disrespectful' De Andrade, who has been a councillor for 19 years, said she had not had to deal with a zero capital budget before. Water leaks, sewage spills and street lights can still, in theory, be fixed under operational budgets for the metro. 'I want a million rand,' she said. 'We have a track record of looking after a capital budget of a million rand. You can't give me zero.' She said they had asked for specific evidence for this decision. She said over the medium term, the situation didn't look much better as the ward would receive only R500,000 for the next financial year. 'That is just stupid. I can tar maybe 500 metres with it.' Below are the projects the ward presented to the municipality to be taken into account for the Integrated Development Plan and the budget: Walker Drive needs to be resurfaced as it is riddled with potholes; Riverstone Road needs an upgrade and drainage; there needs to be a taxi rank constructed for Kragga Kamma; the railing of the low water bridge in the Kabega Road dip should be fixed. Parts of the ward are in urgent need of high mast lights. A substation needs fencing. Kragga Kamma Road, which carries around 5,000 vehicles a day, needs pedestrian walkways and cycle tracks to cut down on accidents. Walker Drive needs a stormwater upgrade, and several gravel roads in the peri-urban areas need tarring. Trees growing into powerlines have to be cut and old electrical infrastructure must be replaced. The ward also has illegal cables running over busy Kragga Kamma Road that often set the area on fire. De Andrade also asked for this to be dealt with. 'I think our ratepayers accept that 80% of their rates go to other areas, but it is hugely disrespectful to give us no capital budget,' De Andrade said. She said that after receiving advice from a city official, she managed to get R500,000 in unspent money to cut trees before the end of the financial year. She said that as she had her meetings about the zero capital budget, acting city manager Ted Pillay had told her to agree to this budget so that 'they can get it through' as they needed the new electricity tariffs to be approved — they would then adjust the budget in August. The electricity department projects a loss of R1.3-billion for the coming year and needs rates to ensure that it doesn't default on its payments to Eskom. In the current financial year, the municipality has already spent R600-million more on purchasing electricity than it received from sales to the public. 'But I said no,' De Andrade said. 'Councillors are delaying the approval of the budget because we want to see the capital budgets in print before we vote.' Municipality's response Municipal director of communications Sithembiso Soyaya said a mistake had been made in presenting the wrong budget to Ward 39 residents. 'During engagements in Ward 39, it was brought to the municipality's attention that the previous year's budget figures may have been presented during an initial consultation session. This matter is currently under internal review, within the relevant framework, and corrective measures will be implemented to ensure such administrative oversights do not recur. 'The concern has been noted and considered during the revision of the draft budget, and the updated, corrected figures should be reflected in the final 2025/26 budget being presented to Council on Thursday. 'The municipality remains committed to ensuring that communities receive accurate, up-to-date information in all budget consultation processes. 'On the response by the city manager, we wish to clarify the context and emphasise that any amendment to the municipal budget must follow a legally compliant process, as provided for in Section 28 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, which allows for a formal adjustment budget to be adopted by council under defined conditions. 'No informal or arbitrary changes can be made outside this regulated process. The municipality upholds these legislative requirements and remains committed to full compliance with the law.
