GOOD Press Statement by Anton Louw,
GOOD Cape Town Councillor responsible for Finance
28 March 2023
The DA-led City of Cape Town is heavily invested in marketing itself in comparison to other cities.
It would have people believe that it should be credited for less loadshedding in Cape Town, for example, instead of crediting the pump storage scheme at Steenbras Dam installed by its apartheid predecessors.
In January, despite having to regularly close top tourist beaches due to sewerage spills, it even somehow contrived to market the idea that Cape Town’s contaminated water was superior to that of Durban.
The tabling of its budget tomorrow provides a real opportunity for Cape Town to differentiate itself – by cutting back on its profits and materially assisting struggling consumers.
Instead of telling us how concerned he is for the poor, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis must take the opportunity to curb the mark-ups the City charges for essential services.
Municipalities must raise revenue in order to provide services, but in the current financial climate the mark-ups must be fair, affordable and just. This particularly applies to a relatively well-off City, with savings in the bank.
The proposed tariff increases, if implemented, will raise a R2.7 Billion projected net profit for City for the 2023/2024 financial year.
Coming on top of the18.6% electricity tariff increase announced by Eskom, and with food prices rocketing, the cost of living is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
If Cape Town tightens its belts around non-core services, and eliminates excess and waste, it is possible to give consumers a break by absorbing the 18.6% price hike.
Even if the city applied a zero percent increase, it will still make a surplus due to the relatively low price it pays for bulk purchases.
As it stands consumers face unaffordable increases across all categories of services:
Electricity 19,78%
Water 8,6%
Sanitation 8,6%
Refuse 5,5%
Disposal 10,32%
Rates 5,15%
Most of these numbers are higher than the official 6.9% rate of inflation and are excessive.
The funding model for local government must be addressed urgently. Cities must be stopped from squeezing the life blood from residents. It is totally inappropriate for a City the size of Cape Town to depend on electricity sales for 34% of its total revenue. Other towns and cities are even more dependent.
Municipalities have a duty to provide services efficiently and reliably, and to ensure they are provided affordably to everyone, with support for those households and individuals that need it most.
Media Enquiries:
Anton Louw, GOOD Cape Town Councillor responsible for Finance
Cell: 0823773335
Email: anton@cisfs.co.za
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 0733671223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za