Latest news with #LuthandoTyhalibongo
IOL News
30-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
New 'fixed' utility fees here to stay, says City
Some residents have reported deductions of up to R60 on electricity purchases of just R100. Image: File Picture: Danie van der Lith/African News Agency THE City has doubled down on its defence of the controversial fixed utility fees that residents say put further strain on already stretched budgets, with some reporting deductions of up to R60 on electricity purchases of just R100. City customers now pay a fixed monthly charge of R59.90 (excluding VAT), known as the "Services and Wires Charge." This amount, since July 1, is applied as a daily rate of R1.97. '(For domestic tariff customers) With each electricity purchase, customers pay for the number of days since the last purchase. Example: a customer buying electricity every 15 days will pay 15 x R1,97 = R29,55 in fixed charges (R59,90 for 30 days). Depending on the vendor, the fixed charge could be displayed as 'utility charge' or 'Service and wires charge' or fixed charge,' said City spokesperson, Luthando Tyhalibongo. Home use tariff customers are being billed a monthly fixed charge of R339,89 (VAT excl.). Public frustration over fixed utility fees began long before they took effect. During the 2025/26 Budget process, the public raised widespread objections warning that the charges would place an added burden on already struggling households. The South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) has also taken the DA-led City to court, challenging the lawfulness of the fixed charges and the City's decision to link certain fixed utility charges to property values. The Cape Town Collective Ratepayers' Association (CTCRA) representing 56 ratepayer associations and civic organisations from across Cape Town is also supporting the application as Amicus Curiae. CTCRA interim chair, Bas Zuidberg said: 'Home owners, especially the Home user category, have seen quite a steep increase from R245 to R340 per month for this fixed charge. 'The CTCRA has received more complaints about the fixed water charge, which is no longer connected to the size of the CoCT connection but is now linked to property values. We have also received many complaints about the new sewage fixed charge and the city-wide cleaning charge, which are also linked to property values.' He said it was clear from the start that these charges were 'highly contentious'. 'More than 10 000 people signed a petition that CTCRA sent out to voice their objections. While CoCT did make a few changes these were not nearly enough to address the concerns. CTCRA is not against the imposition of fixed charges, but we believe linking them to property values is unlawful. Secondly we disagree with the city-wide cleaning charge, which we believe should be funded from the property rates. Thirdly the fixed charges should not be used as an additional revenue stream by CoCT, but they should (in conjunction with the variable charges) cover the actual maintenance cost for the infrastructure. CoCT has proven in the past (through the 'unregulated' portion of electricity consumption charges) not to adhere to this basic principle.' Civic organisation STOP COCT has also received complaints from residents after noticing the added fixed charges on their municipal bills from July 1, most being outraged and saying that they simply could not afford them. 'The impact on households of the two new fixed charges (sanitation and cleaning) and the increase of 38% in the electricity fixed charge is very negative. In most households these fixed charges now total from around R500 upwards. 'According to the arguments in the Sapoa court case against the City of Cape Town, some of these fixed charges are outside the framework of the law. I fully agree with this argument and believe that the way the City implemented these fixed charges as new revenue streams only benefits the City. Many people are currently joining STOP COCT giving the reason that they have had enough of the tariff increases and the fixed charges,' STOP COCT founder, Sandra Dickson said. However, the City maintained that the charges were a necessity. 'Tariffs include both a fixed charge and consumption charges. This means residents can save by consuming less, while still ensuring that all ratepayers contribute to Cape Town's infrastructure and fixed service costs. Fixed charges are common throughout South African municipalities and the world, and are a lawful means of ensuring sustainable infrastructure and service delivery. Following two rounds of meaningful public participation, the final revised budget not only protects households under R2,5 million as it was designed to do, but also expands relief to more homes including above this threshold as well,' Tyhalibongo said. 'Previously, all City-supplied customers made a contribution to city-wide cleaning services via the cost of electricity. Cleaning has now been removed from the electricity price. Customers therefore now pay less for electricity, and City-Wide Cleaning is now shown separately on the monthly bill under 'sundries'. It is not new City income but to cover existing costs beyond the refuse collection (under the refuse tariff for wheelie bins and dry recycling)." Cape Times
IOL News
17-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
How Cape Town is addressing the housing crisis with new planning regulations
Micro-building aims to unlock the potential of affordable rental units Image: Supplied The City of Cape Town has shed more light on its recent changes to the Municipal Planning By-law (MPBL), aimed at unlocking affordable rental accommodation through small-scale, incremental housing developments. On 26 June 2025, Council approved an additional land use right for properties in designated areas, allowing for the development of up to eight small-scale rental units in addition to a main dwelling, or up to 12 rental units if no main dwelling is present. According to City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo, 'The additional right must be exercised in lieu of the existing right to a second and third dwelling and the property owner will need to make a choice between the new and the existing right.' Tyhalibongo explained that this move forms part of the City's broader approach to managing rapid urbanisation and providing more affordable housing opportunities through legal and safe connections to existing infrastructure. 'This additional right is subject to the payment of a development charge and will not drastically change capacity demands on existing services,' he said. He added, 'It still requires beneficiaries to contribute toward long-term infrastructure upgrades.' To assist micro-developers with these costs, the City launched a Development Charges Fund in March 2024. 'This Fund has enabled the City to subsidise 90% of the development charges typically required of small-scale rental unit developments in low-income areas,' Tyhalibongo said. The fund started with R20 million in capital and is already being used to unlock developments across Cape Town. 'This is helping to unlock small-scale rental unit developments on formal properties in historically disadvantaged areas,' he said. 'In some instances, landowners are developing between six and 12 units on a property.' He noted that the City's policies already promote densification and support incremental housing development. 'We are enabling lower-income households to supplement their incomes, while also helping to meet the demand for affordable housing for those who do not qualify for state-subsidised housing or social housing.' 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 Next Stay Close ✕ Tyhalibongo stressed that all land use and building plan applications are evaluated individually. 'They are circulated to internal engineering departments for comment, and development contributions are calculated pro-rata depending on the scale of the proposed development,' he said. 'Where existing infrastructure cannot support additional development, further services or road upgrades are required to enable the development.' To support micro-developers further, the City is investing in new tools and reforms to make the process easier and faster. These include local planning support offices, standardised building plan templates, alternative building materials, and work with financial institutions to make microbuilding more accessible. 'The private sector—small-scale developers in particular—are critical to solving our housing crisis. Only the private sector has the capacity to build at the speed and scale required. Government will never have enough money to meet the housing demand alone,' said Tyhalibongo. He added, 'The real problem with unaffordable housing is not greedy landlords. It's that there's not enough housing. The way to make housing more affordable is to build more of it. To do this we need higher densities, more mixed uses, and development in existing nodes and corridors where people are close to jobs and public transport.' He said the City is actively working to enable this shift: 'We are optimising our scarce land, electricity and water capacity to achieve long-term sustainability and access for all residents.' He also pointed to the City's ten-year infrastructure pipeline, valued at R120 billion, which includes major upgrades to wastewater treatment plants, sustainable water supply, energy diversification, and waste management systems. As part of this investment, Tyhalibongo highlighted the R5.4 billion roll-out of Phase 2 of the MyCiTi bus service from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha to Wynberg and Claremont. 'This project will bring affordable, scheduled public transport to over 35 communities and catalyse job creation and mixed-use investment in the metro-south east.' He added, 'The City is also pushing for the devolution of passenger rail services and is preparing a detailed business plan to be submitted to national government. 'We are making it easier, safer and more cost-effective for more people to legally develop affordable housing and support backyard rentals.' Weekend Argus
