Cape Town – Public resistance to steep municipal tariff hikes is growing nationally, led by Cape Town residents’ strong objections to proposed increases set for 1 July 2025.
The City of Cape Town’s 2025/26 draft budget includes significant tariff hikes across services such as electricity, water, sanitation, and refuse collection, along with the introduction of new charges.
- Electricity up by 27%
- Water up by 7.3%
- Sanitation up by 11.1%
- Refuse collection up by 7.36%
- Property rates up by 7.96%
- NEW sanitation and cleaning tariffs
Build One South Africa (BOSA) says, “This isn’t sustainable. And it isn’t fair
“The DA shouts about tariff hikes in Joburg and Tshwane — but quietly hits Cape Town residents with even bigger increases.”
Daily Maverick quoted Michael Jacobs, the deputy chairperson of the Mitchell’s Plain United Residents Association as saying: “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.”
Acccording to Daily Investor, the controversy may impact support for the Democratic Alliance, which has governed the city since 2006.
However, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis maintains that the hikes, tied to property values, are essential to fund infrastructure upgrades and expanded services.
He defends the decision as vital for Cape Town’s future stability.
“In other metros, residents are paying more and more for broken services and collapsing infrastructure. In contrast, Cape Town is investing 63% more in infrastructure than Joburg over the next three years while still offering significantly lower monthly bills.
“To continue being a city of hope, it is vital that we hold the course on major investments for better water, sanitation, electricity, roads and community infrastructure in our city,” Hill-Lewis said, as per the City’s website.
Non-Profit Organisation Dear South Africa, headed by Rob Hutchinson, is spearheading efforts to challenge the hikes through formal public participation and by engaging with government departments like COGTA.
Hutchinson stresses that this initiative goes beyond petitions, aiming for meaningful public input on draft budgets before they are finalised.
“The objective is more than a petition, although there are several petitions running as such. This is, as I said, proper public participation, where the city or municipality calls for comment on their draft budget. And the budgets aren’t set in stone until the voice of the public or the opinions of the public or various homeowners’ organisations are taken into account,” he said, as per the report.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
