GOOD Speech by Suzette Little,
GOOD Deputy Secretary-General & City of Cape Town Councillor
31 March 2026
Note to Editor: This speech was delivered today at the City of Cape Town Council Meeting
Speaker, in less than a year, the City has tabled an adjustment budget in August 2025, again in January 2026, and now in March 2026. Each time, the explanation shifts. Each time, the targets move. And each time, it’s sold as being normal, but it’s not.
Let me highlight only a few issues that go to the heart of our communities.
The land acquisition target has been reduced from 47 hectares to 16. In a city facing a housing crisis, that is not a refinement. It is a retreat. Fewer hectares mean fewer homes, and fewer homes mean more people left waiting. Yet the City continues to auction off land with no regard for those on the housing waiting list.
With regards to the 900,000 job seekers on the database, the City has lowered its target because it was underperforming. How is that possible? R39 million was taken from this programme because the City could not deliver. Not because there is no demand, but because the programme is not working as it should.
Then there is the financial reality.
The City’s own documents acknowledge that what is billed is not what is collected. Residents are under pressure. Non-payment is rising. Affordability is declining. These are not small issues. So, we must ask: will we be able to afford the loans we have taken on without clear projects, and can we account for that spending? Because the Mayor has yet to answer what happened to those funds, despite repeated questions over more than 12 months.
This report tells us that “several submissions” were received, yet no number is provided. But when you read Annexure C, it shows there were only 7 comments. Again, this reflects a lack of meaningful public engagement. As one of your own councillors said, it was a tick-box exercise.
We have now adjusted the budget for the third time in nine months, just three months before the end of the financial year.
Speaker, perhaps the Mayor can now explain this “City of Hope” narrative he so often repeats.
Because at this point, the real question is:
Hope for whom?
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