The City of Cape Town asserts that it offers the lowest monthly municipal bills among major South African metropolises while ensuring high quality of service delivery and investment in vital infrastructure.
This response followed warnings from the Cape Town Collective Ratepayers' Association (CTCRA). This umbrella organization represents 45 ratepayers' associations and about 100,000 residential properties, expressing concern over the worsening affordability crisis of tariffs. They noted that municipal bills are rising by an average of 10% annually, which is approximately three times the current inflation rate, making costs unaffordable for households and pensioners on fixed incomes.
However, Alderman Siseko Mbandezi, a member of the Mayor's Finance Committee, countered these concerns, stating that Cape Town remains the most affordable metropolis across all property value ranges compared to Johannesburg, Tshwane, eKhuruleni, and Ekurhuleni.
Mbandezi explained that the municipality uses a significantly lower property rate formula (rate per rand) compared to its counterparts. For the 2026/27 financial year, Cape Town's rate per rand is 0.007010, whereas in Johannesburg it is 0.009889, in eKhuruleni it is 0.01195, in Tshwane it is 0.01231, and in Ekurhuleni it is 0.015089.
Mbandezi emphasized: 'This means that even with higher property values in Cape Town, you are likely to pay less here living in a functioning city.' He added that higher property values lead to even greater comparative savings compared to other metropolises.
According to City data, the total monthly savings for Cape Town households range from 264 to 903 rand for properties valued at 800,000 rand, and for properties valued at 15 million rand, this saving reaches between 5,439 and 9,657 rand, based on standard water and electricity consumption.
The City also reported that even when adjusting for a 50% increase in property values in Cape Town, the total monthly bills remain lower in almost all scenarios compared to Johannesburg.
In response to the energy cost issue, which is a primary driver of the cost of living increase, Mbandezi stated that the City is actively diversifying its energy sources to reduce dependence on Eskom. The municipality recently signed two power purchase agreements totaling 70 MW, which are expected to yield 8 billion rand in electricity procurement over 20 years at tariffs 19%–21% cheaper than current Eskom rates.
Mbandezi clarified: 'These two agreements are cheaper than Eskom, and the City saves 19–21% on electricity purchases compared to current Eskom tariffs.' The City plans to procure up to 200 MW in upcoming competitive tenders, aiming ultimately to secure 700 MW from independent power producers.
In response to ratepayers' calls for additional assistance, Mbandezi highlighted that the Cape Town budget for 2026/27 provides the largest tariff reductions and the widest benefits for pensioners and low-income earners among the five largest metropolises. Key support measures include a 100% tariff discount and free basic services for low-income households with properties valued up to 620,000 rand or monthly income up to 7,500 rand.
Mbandezi reported that the exemption from tariff payments applies to the first 620,000 rand of property value for homes valued up to 8 million rand, and pensioners receiving up to 27,000 rand monthly are entitled to tariff discounts ranging from 10% to 100% along with essential living electricity tariffs.
He added that 'the infrastructure budget contains only vital investments, which are the minimum necessary for Cape Town to be a functioning city for everyone,' noting that the City continues to engage with the national government to improve grant funding and fair allocation of shares.