Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has welcomed the latest Municipal Financial Sustainability Index (MFSI) recognition of Cape Town as ‘highly financially sustainable’, the only metro to achieve this. Cape Town’s overall index score of 71 is a full 35-points higher than the average score of 36 for the other metros.
The Ratings Afrika report released on 9 July states that ‘Cape Town remains the only metropolitan municipality classified as highly financially sustainable’, adding that ‘Cape Town’s strong financial position’ is providing the ‘capacity to invest in infrastructure’ unlike other cities.
Ratings Afrika further warned that “without decisive intervention, municipalities will remain trapped in a cycle of operating losses, worsening liquidity shortages and declining service delivery”.
Mayor Hill-Lewis says the report ‘affirms the progress made in our vow that Cape Town will be South Africa’s beacon of hope, avoiding the tragic collapse of infrastructure and services we sadly see in other cities’.
‘Good governance enables us to invest an SA-record R40bn in basic infrastructure over the next three years, while still offering the lowest property rates of SA’s cities.
‘Around 130 000 construction-related jobs will flow from infrastructure investment in the current term of office alone, with 75% of infrastructure spending directly benefitting lower-income households,’ said the Mayor.
The MSFI report further notes that ‘Cape Town stands out with a [revenue] collection rate of 98%’, amid an average 85,3% metro collection rate.
Cape Town’s infrastructure investment highlights over the three-year budget framework include:
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R16,7bn water and sanitation investment – 40% of total spending – including major wastewater works upgrades, quadrupled pipe replacement (a R2bn project), and expanded water supply sources
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R6bn in electrical grid upgrades and maintenance to prepare for a decentralised energy future with less Eskom reliance
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R3,7bn in road maintenance, pothole repairs, upgrades to roads and stormwater, and R653m in congestion relief projects
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A further R3,2 billion for the major MyCiTi Cape Flats expansion, the biggest of its kind in South Africa.
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R3,3bn for informal settlement upgrading and state-subsidised housing
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A further R203m for sports facility upgrades
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R300m for the Strandfontein Pavilion redevelopment
The City of Hope Budget further includes an all-time record R6,8bn safety and security budget proposed for 2026/27.
Widest relief for households
Comparing the budgets of the five biggest cities in South Africa, Cape Town offers the highest rates relief and widest pensioner and indigent benefits for each major relief category:
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100% rates rebate for indigent households (property value of R620 000 or less, or R7 500 maximum monthly household income)
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Free Basic Water and Sanitation (15KL water / 10,5KL sanitation monthly for indigent households)
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Rates-Free Benefit (first R620 000 of property value rates-free for homes up to R8m)
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Lifeline electricity qualifying threshold (property value R500 000 or less, monthly household income of R7 500 or less. Usage <450kWh monthly-average to stay on lifeline)
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Pensioner benefits (10-100% rates rebate and lifeline electricity for pensioners with a monthly household income of R27 000 or less, regardless of property value)
Lowest property rates of SA’s metros
Cape Town’s property rates formula for 2026/27 – known as the Rate-in-Rand – is by far the lowest of SA’s metros:
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Cape Town – 0.007010
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Johannesburg – 0.009889
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Ekurhuleni – 0,01169
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Tshwane – 0.01231
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eThekwini – 0,01470
Cape Town’s much lower rate-in-rand means that – even with higher property values in Cape Town – residents are still likely to pay less while living in a city that works.
The next metro – Joburg – has a 41% higher rate-in-rand.
