Objection to the City of Cape Town Tariff increase
To : Council of the City of Cape Town Subject:
Objection to the Draft Budget for 2025–2026
Dear Sir/Madam, I am signing this petition to formally object to the City of Cape Town’s draft budget for the 2025–2026 financial year.
My reasons are outlined below:
Fixed Rate Increases I wholeheartedly object to the following fixed rate increases:
City Wide cleaning tariff - this should be completely scrapped. City cleaning should come out of rates and taxes.
Fixed Basic Water charge - an increase of 280% is outrageous in an economy as constrained as ours with the middle class income earners already suffering under constant cost of living increases. Among others, our pensioners and fixed income earners will potentially be tipped over the edge into losing their homes with these monthly increases.
Electricity Home User Charge An increase of 38,7% is over and above the increase already been levied on consumers on 1 April by NERSA.
Excessive Increases Over Time While I understand the need to invest in infrastructure — especially in under-resourced areas — the proposed 11.4% budget increase is too high. It's more than three times the inflation rate and follows previous increases of 11.9% (2024) and 11.2% (2023). Many residents, including myself, simply cannot afford these continual hikes—especially those living in properties valued above R2 million. Homeowners with a single income or retirees earning more than R22,000 per month may face losing their homes. The average increase is between R680-R1200 per month.
Retirees earning R22001 per month with a property value of over R3million face a 12 % increase in their tarrif, while living on a fixed income with a ever increasing cost of living. Many of our retirees are living in homes that are valued over R3.5 million but struggle to feed themselves. Many are reliant on SASSA grants due to the shrinkage of the real value of their pensions as many of our counsellors in Durbanville witnessed first hand while assisting with the SASSA switch over. Due to the cost of houses and the expense of retirement homes, selling their homes would not solve their problems.
Possible Breach of the Municipal Systems Act:
I believe the budget violates parts of the Municipal Systems Act 2020 : (Articles 74(2)(b), 74(2)(d), 74(2)(h), and 74(3)) for the following reasons: Tariffs based on property values: Fixed water and sewage tariffs are linked to property values in the draft budget, not actual service usage—this contradicts Article 74(2)(b).
City-wide cleaning fee: This service should be funded through general property rates, not a separate fee linked to property values (again breaching 74(2)(b)).
Unfair progressive levies: Basing levies on property value, rather than cost to the city, violates Article 74(2)(d).
Efficient use of resources:
Reducing the cost of electricity for City power users provides an incentive to increase electricity consumption, violating 74(2)(h)
Discriminatory and inconsistent pricing: Fixed tariffs and rate-in-the-rand increases create unfair differences under 74(3). For example, a property valued at R10.001 million could pay up to 6% more than one valued at R10 million—an illogical jump that fails to follow a fair sliding scale. Also, these fixed service tariffs include VAT, further penalising properties valued over R2 million.
Environmental and Fairness Concerns with Electricity Charges I believe lowering electricity charges to offset high property rates is the wrong approach. It encourages more electricity usage, which harms the environment and increases load-shedding risks. This is contra to the efficient use of resources violating 74(2)(h) of the Municipal Systems Act. It also unfairly penalises residents who’ve invested in solar power, reducing their electricity use but still facing high property charges. This contradicts the City’s own sustainability goals to whit being a sustainable city.
Meanwhile, residents connected to the Eskom grid (but still within city limits) don’t benefit from the electricity discount and still face the same property rate hikes—an unfair double burden.
Adjustment Needed for Property Value Threshold The current threshold for the R435,000 rates exemption applies only to homes valued at R5 million or less. Given the 23% rise in Cape Town property values, this limit should be raised to R6 million to offer relief to more residents. While this increase in value is often seen as a positive indicator of a thriving city, it has also led to disproportionately higher municipal rates, even before this proposed hike. Property owners are being penalized for market-driven valuation increases over which they have no control. Salaries and income do not match the property valuation growth.
Final comments: ·
The approach adopted and the underlying reasoning are not only flawed and manifestly unfair, but also devoid of the required rationality for such prejudicial measures. In addition, the approach to attach increases to property rates loses sight of the real drivers of property rates in the Western Cape.
Values are inflated unrealistically and totally unrelated to the actual nature and extent of individual properties compared to other parts of the country. Properties which will be valued far less elsewhere artificially create the perception of wealth reflecting a false picture of affordability by individual households.
This holds particularly true for middle income households and for many which would have fallen into lower income households not too long ago. It is common knowledge, particularly in the Western Cape, that disposable income has not kept pace at all with the increases in property values. An ordinary struggling middle income household may with these property value increases be falsely assessed as an affluent household and taxed and rated accordingly.
Unfair rates and taxes and any attempt to impose them without a rational basis remain unlawful.
These proposed budgetary increases and changes fall into that category.
In Summary: My Requests T
To make the budget fairer and more realistic, I propose the City Council: ·
Cut the overall budget to align with inflation—by reducing costs, improving efficiency, and spreading major projects over multiple years. Address the overcharging of contractors who charge inflated prices and waste taxpayers money.
Unlink fixed water and sanitation charges from property values—make them true “fixed” charges. Our residents use water to water gardens more than flushing toilets. Reduce the 70% sewerage cost linked to water use to a fixed charge as in many other municipalities.
Remove the city-wide cleaning levy—fund this through property rates like other municipal services. Stop using the middle to upper class suburbs to fund the low income suburbs cleaning costs. There is no correlation for our communities between the fees being charged and the benefits received. ·
Raise the property value threshold for the R435,000 exemption from R5 million to R6 million ·
Add the costs to the Rates and Taxes’ or another Non VATable areas so that we are not paying an extra 15% over and above what the city is charging already. ·
Introduce a Taxi levy to the users of the taxi ranks to cover the increased cleaning costs around the taxi ranks ·
Make use of the Batho Pele principles to improve service delivery in South Africa, emphasizing the needs of citizens. This being based on the idea that "the people must come first". The key principles include consultation access, openness, transparency, dealing with complaints, and giving best value. Of which the current draft budget does not follow these principles for all citizens - in particular the middle class.
I am submitting my name, contact details, suburb, ward number, and email address as required. These will be shared with the City and Sub council through the Durbanville Residents & Ratepayers Association.
Find my ward and councillor here: https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/meet-the-city/city-council/find-your-councillor-ward-or-subcouncil/show-wards
To join the Durbanville Residents & Ratepayers Association and allow them to share my views and interests click here:
SIGN UP FOR FREE: https://forms.gle/UQu9vY9q71st5SyA7
By joining the DRRPA you will be kept up to date on news, events and matters concerning our community. After the first AGM, you can choose to be a paid member. You will then be supporting the Vision and Mission of the DRRPA and your contributions will help us achieve our Objectives. Your involvement as a member will contribute to preserving the unique character of Durbanville. Membership fees will be agreed upon at our first AGM and will only be payable after our first AGM. The information provided will be protected under the POPI Act.
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CLOSING DATE FOR THIS PETITION IS 1 MAY 2025
Durbanville Residents & Ratepayers Association Contact the author of the petition