Cape Town Revises Budget, Offers iol Relief to Residents

The City of Cape Town has revised its 2025/26 budget plans, scaling back proposed rate hikes in response to resident concerns, with the aim of extending its social relief net to more homes and families. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced that the city has extended its rate relief measures, increasing the 'first R450 000 rates-free' threshold to R7 million and raising the qualifying household income limit for pensioners to R27 000 monthly.

The revised budget plans include reduced cleaning service charges and a pensioner rebate offering up to 100% off cleaning fees. Water charges will also be cut for properties valued between R1 million and R25 million. The city expects monthly bills for many residents to be 15-40% lower than initially projected. The changes are a result of public inputs and aim to alleviate the burden of high property rates and tariffs on low-income households.

Civic activist Sandra Dickson criticized the changes, saying they do not address major points of contention, and that only slight changes were made to the proposed budget. Koos Kombuis also questioned the DA's new offer to lower tariffs for poorer households in Cape Town, suggesting it may be ineffective in addressing the issue. Despite the criticism, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis assured that 97% of ratepayers will avoid the drastic 20% increases, with only a few cases involving large, high-value homes with exceptionally low utility use.

The revised budget plans are part of the City of Cape Town's "Invested in Hope" budget, which aims to provide relief to residents while maintaining certain tariff reforms. The city will maintain removing the 10% electricity cost used to fund citywide cleaning and providing a grace period for commercial customers. The changes are a step towards addressing the concerns of residents and providing relief to those who need it most.