The City of Cape Town has introduced a cleaning tariff separate from Property rates being paid by residents. The amount has been ring fenced out of property rates but there has been absolutely no reduction to residents’ property rates.
Instead, the City of Cape Town has said the “Reduction in Energy cost will cushion the impact of the tariff”. But what the City has clearly forgotten, is that the reduction in electricity costs is only allowing residents to break even after years of overcharging.
In the 2022/23 financial year, NERSA approved a 7.4% tariff increase, but Cape Town implemented a 9.6% increase. In the 2023/24 financial year, NERSA approved a 15.1% increase, but the City implemented a 17.6% tariff hike on top of its hiked price from the previous year. This issue is still playing out in court, with the residents paying the City’s legal fees.
So yes, this budget only has a 2% electricity tariff instead of the 12.74% NERSA approved for Eskom (corresponding municipal tariff increase of 11.32%), but residents are not getting the deal they are being sold.
The new cleaning tariff is linked to property values, which have been seen to be skyrocketing in Cape Town. Stats SA’s residential property price index released in 2023 determined “since 2010, residential property prices have grown by 141% in the City of Cape Town”.
In Newlands, where residents will likely pay a cleaning tariff between R360.91 – R1,300.10 excl VAT per month due to their property value, their DA Ward councillor informed residents “It’s important to understand that there is no ‘new, improved’ cleansing service. The cleansing service will remain the same.”
This is not a budget invested in hope, it is full of despair and concern for Cape Town residents who are struggling to make ends meet. Cape Town is becoming unaffordable to Capetonians.
Residents have until the 2nd of May to voice their concerns: https://www.capetown.gov.za/City-Connect/Have-your-say/Issues-open-for-public-comment/draft-budget-for-2025-2026
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