History made as Cape Town reveals R39.7bn infrastructure investment plan

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Over 700 new municipal police officers will also be deployed to communities as part of the City’s biggest single-year safety investment to date. Major tariff structure reforms will further bring notable relief for lower income households, with just a 2% electricity price increase compared to Eskom’s 11,32% nationwide increase to municipalities.

"This budget contains Cape Town’s planned infrastructure investment over three years which – at R39,7bn – is more than the three Gauteng metros combined, and will create over 130,000 construction-related jobs. Crucially, a full 75% of this investment directly benefits lower income households.

"Every budget is a balancing act, and for us this is between our bold plans to build the Cape Town of the future, and the need to shield our most vulnerable residents from the enormous financial pressures that make their daily lives very hard. We have called this the “Invested in Hope” Budget because now – with this fourth budget of our term – we are fully invested in building a city of hope for all, as we approach these final two years of this term," said Hill-Lewis.

Investment, safety, relief

Three-year Infrastructure investments include over R16,5bn for water and sanitation, R5bn for electricity grid upgrades, R3,4bn for roads, and a further R4,5bn for the new MyCiti bus route linking Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and a host of other communities with Wynberg and Claremont.

As part of the City’s record R6,7bn Safety and Security budget, the mayor said over 700 new municipal police officers will be deployed metro-wide across every ward.

"These 700 new officers are over and above the 400 new officers we’ve added to the ranks of law enforcement and metro police since the start of this term. We are going to post officers in neighbourhoods where they will be stationed permanently, and where they will get to know that community well. They will get to know the neighbourhood challenges, the problem buildings, and the residents themselves. This kind of personal policing, where relationships and trust are built, can only lead to more positive outcomes,’ said Hill-Lewis.

Relief for lower income households

Mayor Hill-Lewis further announced major tariff restructuring reforms, with relief on the cards for lower income households, including:

"Limiting Eskom’s 11,32% national increase to just 2% in Cape Town is made possible by our comprehensive review of the electricity tariff structure. For the past three decades, around 10% of the cost of each electricity unit you bought helped to fund other City services, such as area cleaning. This system will be discontinued given that Eskom electricity now costs 400% more than it did in 2004.

"Special protection for Lifeline electricity customers will also continue. In 2023, Cape Town took the unique step among metros to raise the number of units that Lifeliners can buy at a cheaper, subsidised rate: from 350 to 600 units per month. Thanks to these changes, Lifeline customers using 600 units in a month, will still pay relatively the same in 25/26 as they did three years ago," said Hill-Lewis.

Lifeline customers will not pay fixed charges, while City customers on the Domestic Tariff will make a proposed fixed monthly contribution of R59,90 to ensure sustainable electricity services, however customers in this band will still experience a much lower increase (5% compared to Eskom’s 11,32%).

A major restructuring of Water and Sanitation fixed charges is set to bring notable relief for lower income households, with increases varying for households depending on property value and consumption. The City has created an online calculator for residents to view changes to bills commencing 1 July 2025.

"In the past, households were charged a particular fixed charge for water based on the size of their water meter connection size. The problem was this: a well-off household and a low-income, non-indigent household who had the same connection size paid the same fixed charge. Now, this fixed charge will be determined by property value, resulting in a saving for the lower income household. The second change is that monthly sanitation charges will now include a fixed portion. But, this is entirely offset by a reduction in the charges for sanitation volumes," said Hill-Lewis.

Property rates set to remain SA’s lowest

Cape Town’s property rates for the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors are also set to remain the lowest of all metros based on a “rate-in-the-rand” comparison – the formula cities use to calculate rates.

"Even with next year’s increase of 7,96% applied, Cape Town’s property rates remain below current 2024 levels in all other cities. This increase is slightly above forecasted inflation, but will help the City of Cape Town make record investments to position the metro as the ‘City of Hope for all’ in line with our long-term strategic vision," said Hill-Lewis.

The mayor said the annual Refuse Removal increase of 7,36% will help to sustainably fund waste services for formal residential properties and informal settlements in a fast-growing metro.

Residents will further see a City-Wide Cleaning Tariff explicitly reflected on their bills from July alongside Refuse Removal. This is not a new expense as customers previously helped fund this via property rates, and the tariff will be fully buffered by the reduction of electricity costs going to other forms of service delivery.