As the public participation process for the 2022-’23 draft budget was wrapped up on 3 May, the final budget for the City of Cape Town is expected to go to council later this month for adoption.
Ahead of the tariff increases in July, the City says all comments received from the public will be considered before the final budget is signed off.
Tariff on refuse is set to increase by 5%, water and sanitation by 5%, with an additional 1,5% specifically for expanding access to water to residents living in informal settlements, and electricity by 9,5%.
“The number of comments (and objections received) have been collated into a report that will be tabled in council and made public by the end of the month. The submissions made on the budget and supporting policies are all collated and reviewed and are currently being responded to. All submissions are submitted to the political leadership to determine with the relevant officials what changes can or should be made to the budget or the relevant policies,” the City’s Mayco member for finance Siseko Mbandezi said to TygerBurger last week.
“Where feasible, considering the full basket of services to be provided, changes are made to the budget.”
Mbandezi said rates increases are calculated taking into account aspects such as inflation, input costs and affordability as well as the mix of commercial and residential customer base.
“The City does not plan for a profit on this income. It is used for shared services such as roads, public lighting, parks maintenance, and fire services, among others. Cape Town’s rates are among the lowest in the country,” he says.
“Every effort is made to keep increases as low as possible, while ensuring that service delivery is not compromised. The cost of providing services increases every year due to inflation while at the same time there is increased demand for services due to our growing city.”
While there is much unhappiness about the proposed water tariff increase, Mbandezi says this increase is vital for the delivery of reliable services now and in future to ensure water security through the City’s new water strategy.
“Affordability for our residents is always top of mind. Proposed service increases were kept to the minimum required to continue delivering services sustainably for our growing city. All income from services is used to provide services. The City does not budget for profit on service charges.”
He says the payment ratio of about 98% indicates that most residents are still able to pay their municipal accounts, but those who cannot should approach the City.
Sandra Dickson of the civic action group Stop COCT expressed her concern about the lack of debate when the R61,5 billion draft budget was tabled in March.
“This budget is signed off and accepted by council in the May council meeting where some debate will take place. So effectively council is muted and councillors have no say (in council in public) on possible relief to taxpayers brought about by public debate and putting counter view points on the table,” she says.
Dickson says the City’s cash balance grew by almost R2 billion from 2021 to 2022 as a result of a healthy surplus of just under R2 billion for the last financial year. It currently stands on R19,95 billion according to the City’s financial monitoring report.
Mbandezi says there will be an opportunity for all parties to debate the revised budget when it is tabled later this month, as is the practice.
“All political parties have been privy to and part of the budget compilation process (a process that continues throughout the year), and have had opportunity to provide input in workshops, subcouncil and portfolio committee meetings.”
