Where did the billions go?

Darryl Lawrence, South Peninsula Regional leader for Africa Restoration Alliance

The City of Cape Town spent R28.2bn on Capital projects (infrastructure) between 2022 and 2025 (up to June 2025) and it would have spent a total of R67.9bn on Capital projects by 2028.

If so many billions of rands have been spent on infrastructure assumingly on upgrading current infrastructure and new infrastructure projects, then why is the Mayor of the City of Cape Town stating that the massive increase in the municipal accounts is necessary because of the ageing and creaking infrastructure? More smoke and mirrors to mask the real reasons for the massive increases in tariffs.

COCT has taken out loans of over R6bn over the last 24 months – to fund infrastructure projects. These are loans that we, as ratepayers, must pay back – maybe the increased tariffs are funding these loan repayments.

• April 2023: R2bn loan from Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD)
• June 2024: R2.7bn loan the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• June 2024: R3.5bn loan from Nedbank

A total of R8.2bn in loans.

Are these loans in addition to the budgeted amounts for Infrastructure projects? If, so, then what will it be spent on?

The Mayor claims that Cape Town is the best run city but now suddenly it has creaking infrastructure that desperately needs to be upgraded / maintained.

This is what I could find online, there might be more infrastructure projects.

Completed projects since 2023

• R863.6 million in 2023/24 for water and sewer pipe replacement projects and future plans to invest an additional R779 million for the rest of the year.
• Upgrades to the Cape Flats and Milnerton bulk sewer systems
• These projects are part of a R1.4 billion investment over three years to enhance the city's wastewater infrastructure.

Ongoing projects:

• MyCiTi Bus Network Expansion – R5.2bn over the next 3 years
• Public Transport Interchanges (PTIs) – up to R168m
• Water Security Projects – R5bn to introduce 300 megalitres per day of new water by 2030

That is a total of about R12bn spent since 2023, but R34bn was budgeted for.

Where was the other R22bn spent?

• Siseko Mbandezi, the City of Cape Town's Mayoral committee member for finance, responds:

The City plans an infrastructure investment of R40 billion over the medium term primarily for water security and sustainable waste and waterworks, energy security, traffic alleviation and public transport investment, as well as more safety and security deployments.

From a value for money perspective for residents, it is worth noting that Cape Town is tabling an infrastructure budget 63% than Joburg’s, major expansions to policing and cleaning operations, electricity price relief, and still maintains the lowest monthly bills among SA’s city’s based on a range of common household scenarios. This picture will only further improve with the additional support measures the City is modelling. 

An extensive public participation process was conducted in line with the Municipal Property Rates Act and all information is publicly available in the budget documents. 

The comments received via public participation processes have been collated, considered and responded to.

At its meeting of 29 May, Council will consider comments from the public participation, any proposed amendments to the budget, and any further requirements in the process to finalize the adoption of the budget before 1 July. 

Amendments already proposed by the City, include:

Expanding property rates relief by extending the ‘first R450 000 rates-free’ benefit beyond the current R5m cut-off to all homes valued R7m and below.

Raising pensioner rebate qualifying criteria higher than the current R22 000 monthly income all the way to a total monthly income of R27 000 per household.

Reducing city-wide cleaning charges for properties from R1.5m to R7.5m.