GOOD Statement by Axolile Notywala, GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor:
In a city struggling with an affordable housing crisis, DA councillors have voted to increase rentals for some of the city’s poorest residents, including pensioners, unemployed individuals, and low-income earners living in Council-owned Community Residential Units (CRUs), mostly on the Cape Flats.
Under the guise of “expanded rates relief,” the City’s Budget 2.0 claims to offer financial support, yet its so-called “innovative” approach includes a 12.91% increase in rental costs for CRU tenants. This sharp hike is more than double the 4.40% increase initially proposed in the original draft budget.
This decision was pushed through in a Special Human Settlements Portfolio Committee meeting on 29 April 2025, where every DA councillor present voted in favour of the increase. This happened as the City scrambled to defend its original draft budget amid public outcry over unaffordable rates and tariffs.
In yesterday’s (5 June 2025) Human Settlements Portfolio Committee meeting, I again raised concerns about the unjustified increase and was shut down. When I requested that the committee take another vote in light of the updated budget, the Chairperson, Councillor Anda Ntsondo, refused. I was also blocked from questioning why this 12.91% rental increase is still not reflected in Budget 2.0, despite being decided in April.
Rather than easing the pressure, the DA has chosen to squeeze Cape Town’s most vulnerable residents even further. Shockingly, DA councillors continue to justify the increase by claiming Cape Town has “some of the lowest rentals in the country.” But the truth is, in a city where affordable housing is scarce and public housing is a last refuge for many, these increases are nothing short of punitive.
If the City is serious about being “pro-poor,” then its actions, especially those affecting people’s homes and livelihoods, must match its rhetoric. Decisions that directly impact residents’ cost of living should be made transparently, communicated clearly, and subject to genuine public input.
Instead, the DA has once again chosen to protect its political narrative, rather than Cape Town’s people.
GOOD Manifesto on Public Participation: Encouraging public participation in decision-making processes.
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