Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis at last month's council meeting where he tabled the draft budget for 2025/2026.
Image: City of Cape Town/Supplied
Mitchell’s Plain United Residents’ Association (Mura) deputy chairperson, Michael Jacobs, has called the City’s proposed fixed water and sanitation tariffs as part of the draft budget for 2025/26 disingenuous.
Cape Town residents have until Friday May 2 to comment on the City’s draft budget of R84,1 billion for 2025/26.
According to the budget summary available on its website, R12.7 billion of the proposed budget will be earmarked for capital expenditure, which includes land, community buildings, equipment, renewal and new roadways, and water- and wastewater infrastructure.
The lion’s share of the proposed budget, totalling R71,3 billion, will be allocated to operating expenditure to cover the municipality’s day-to-day costs of delivering services, including safety and security and other staff, integrated rapid transit (IRT) bus services and maintenance of existing infrastructure.
The City is proposing a 7.96% increase in property rates, 2% increase in electricity, 7.36% hike in refuse and varied increases in water tariffs.
Mr Jacobs said that while the association welcomes the proposed electricity hike, it opposes the City’s proposed fixed water and sanitation charges.
“The introduction of fixed charges on water and sanitation totally unacceptable. To use property values to determine what households should pay instead of the fixed pipe levy is disingenuous as property values have skyrocketed the last couple of years in Mitchell's Plain.
“The City’s proposed overhaul of its utility tariffs will see sharp increases in monthly bills. It argues that the last of these, a city-wide cleaning tariff, will be offset by a reduced energy charge, which is in fact delusional.
“In fact, we have been calling for the scrapping of all fixed charges on water, sanitation and electricity altogether as it hurts the poorest of the poor the hardest,” he said.
Mr Michaels said Mura will be tabling a formal submission on the draft budget, in addition to attending the planned public participation on the budget at Rocklands Civic on Tuesday April 15 to voice its concerns over ward budget allocations.
“Mura welcomes the proposed deployment of law enforcement officers in Mitchell’s Plain wards as it would go a long way in improving safety in the broader area. We support the introduction of CCTV cameras in parts of the Beacon Valley area. However, we are of the view that some of the ward budget allocations do not speak to the needs of the community,” he added.
Lynne Jaffer, secretary of Lentegeur East Ratepayers Association (Lerpa), said the association supports Mura's response to the City's draft budget. Zooming into the proposed budget allocation for ward 76 , Ms Jaffer said while the budget makes provision for park equipment and upgrades, and traffic calming measures, it would like to see provision made for safety and security, job creation and poverty alleviation.
Given the current gang violence in our area, we find it a disgrace that there is no leadership shown in terms of making provision for closed-circuit television cameras, poverty alleviation job creation through paid park buddies and field workers, Ms Jaffer said.
The executive committee of Colorado Residents and Ratepayers Association (CRRA) has slammed the proposed rates and tariff increase. CCRA chairperson Natalie Bent said the proposed hikes will plunge residents further into poverty.
“The executive is not in support of the proposed rates and tariff increase. Many Mitchell's Plain residents are struggling to pay their bonds, municipal accounts, electricity, food, transport costs.
“Pensioners, who have purchased their houses many years ago, must now pay according to their house value. The budget is at the expense of the most vulnerable residents and risks perpetuating intergenerational poverty,” she said.
Ms Bent said that residents are already burdened by the high cost of electricity “due to Eskom's complete incompetence”.
“It is disgusting that we have to bear the cost. Residents are paying R20 for 5.2 units and R100 for 24 units,” she added.
Mandalay community leader Nkosinati Kaso echoed Ms Bent's sentiments, saying that pensioners in Mandalay will bear the brunt of rates and tariff increases.
"The draft budget is a definite no-no to our community. Most of the people living in Mandalay bought their houses in the early 1980s and 1990s and are mostly pensioners now. Many are dependent on state pension grants. Therefore the affordability question is a tough one.
"Residents have been watching the debates in parliament relating to the VAT increase by 0.5% and now in the middle of that the City of Cape Town is increasing the tariffs for water and other services," Mr Kaso said.
Speaking on behalf of the Mandalay Unemployed Development Forum, chairperson Bongisa Daniso said the forum is deeply concerned about the proposed increases in property rates, electricity, refuse, and water tariffs.
"Our community is already struggling to afford high rates and water bills every month, and these proposed increases will only add to the burden. Furthermore, we have unemployed child-headed homes in our community that are particularly vulnerable to these increases.
"We urge the City to reconsider these increases and explore alternative solutions that will not further strain our community," Ms Daniso said.
Residents can email their comments to budget.comments@capetown.gov.za, via the city’s website www.capetown.gov.za/collaborate or www.capetown.gov.za/HaveYourSay. Comments can also be submitted through the local sub-council offices or verbally on 0800 212 176.