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IOL News
28-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Cape Town mayor can learn from finance minister's budget
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis should table a revised Draft Budget and deliver a Budget that is realistic, linked to the CPI of 4.5%, to make it affordable to ratepayers, says the writer. Image: Phando Jikelo EXAMINING the history of the growth in the City of Cape Town budgets, it can clearly be seen that since 2021/22 Budget growth picked up substantially. The Capital Budget grew from a modest R3.7 billion to a humongous R12.7 billion in only four years. Taken against the South African economy which has a growth rate of 1.4% (revised down from 1.9%) the City's Budget growth of around 9% per year, is totally out of proportion with the rest of the country. In the latest National Budget the minister announced that future grants to municipalities will be lower due to National Budget constraints. Yet, the Mayor of Cape Town will not budge on his aggressive Capital Expansion for future projects. In the light of the national government's financial constraints, a Metro like the City of Cape Town simply cannot continue as if it is not part of the larger country. The disastrous results of this Mayor's lack of strategic vision, are clearly visible after the latest Budget fiasco with the COCT Draft Budget for 2025-26. Ratepayers have reached the end of their ability to absorb the ever increasing number of fixed charges the City introduces to fund their ambitious expansion plans. The link to property values which creates an exponential rate of tariff increases can simply not be implemented in this tight fiscal environment of national growth of only 1.4%. On 28 May 2025, the Mayor should therefore table a revised Draft Budget and deliver a Budget that is realistic, linked to the CPI of 4.5%, to make it affordable to ratepayers. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The new fixed charges must be removed and above all, an alternative to the link to property values to determine the water fixed charge must be found. (A simple flat rate as what is applied for electricity is suggested.) The Mayor should demonstrate the same restraint as what was shown in the national budget. The finance minister was forced through effective opposition in a GNU where no single party had the majority to push through what it wanted. Sandra Dickson | STOP City of Cape Town
IOL News
12-05-2025
- IOL News
Cape Town's gun violence crisis: over 350 shootings in 28 days
The ShotSpotter picked up more than 300 shots across Cape Town Image: COCT Gun violence continues to plague parts of Cape Town, with over 350 shootings recorded in the last 28 days across Nyanga, Hanover Park, Manenberg and Lavender Hill. The alarming figure comes from the City of Cape Town's ShotSpotter system – a gunshot detection technology that pinpoints the exact location of firearm discharges in real-time. Each time a gunshot is detected, City law enforcement officers are immediately dispatched and the South African Police Service (SAPS) is alerted. 'Gun violence in these communities has been ignored for too long,' said JP Smith, Mayco member for Safety and Security. 'Unless someone dies or a formal complaint is lodged, no police case is opened, no record is created, and no action is taken. That's why we funded ShotSpotter – to collect real-time evidence and push national government to send more reinforcements where they're urgently needed.' The technology proved vital again early this morning. Just after 5am, two gunshots were fired in Hanover Park. No emergency calls were made, but ShotSpotter registered the incident immediately. Officers were deployed to the exact location within minutes. 'For too long there was no proof of the scale of the problem,' Smith said. 'Now we have the data. This system has already helped us recover hundreds of firearms and make numerous arrests. But we need more – more SAPS officers on the ground and more detectives to ensure those arrested are properly investigated and convicted, not simply released and returned to terrorise their communities.' Police are investigating cases of murder and attempted murder after a two people were shot in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain. Image: Leon Knipe Following targeted patrols in gang-affected areas, SAPS reported the arrest of a 26-year-old alleged gang member. According to Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, police entered a property in Pikkewyn Street, Rocklands, where they recovered a pistol and ammunition hidden on site. The suspect was detained for possession of a prohibited firearm. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ From 5–11 May 2025, advocacy group Fight Against Crime SA (FACSA) recorded 79 shooting incidents reported directly by members of the public – a figure that may not reflect the full picture due to limited reach in some areas. Their weekly figures include 18 incidents, with 32 people shot. Of those, 12 were confirmed dead, six critically injured, and eight in unknown condition. One additional body was discovered with the cause of death undetermined. Police have confirmed a number of recent fatal shooting incidents, including one in Agulhas Court, Hanover Park, on Friday, 2 May. According to police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie, officers were alerted by hospital staff after the body of a 33-year-old man, who had been shot in the chest, was brought in. An eight-year-old girl and an adult male were also treated for gunshot wounds as innocent bystanders. No arrests have yet been made. A day earlier, on 1 May, three men aged between 17 and 40 were shot dead in Clarke Estate, Elsies River. A fourth victim, aged 21, sustained a gunshot wound to the hand. SAPS has opened three murder dockets and one of attempted murder. Detectives from the Anti-Gang Unit are investigating. In another tragic case from the same week, Lentegeur police responded to a fatal shooting on Linaria Road. A 42-year-old man was declared dead at the scene after being attacked while driving. A woman in the vehicle suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was hospitalised. Weekend Argus
