Cape Town mayor promises groundwork laid for major infrastructure investment will bloom in 2025
Tabling his Invested in Hope budget on Thursday, Geordin Hill-Lewis said he hoped ratepayers would be understanding of the above-inflation property rates increase for the coming financial year.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis tabled the city's budget in the city council on 27 March 2025. Picture: @CityofCT/X
CAPE TOWN - With one year to go for the current local government political term, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is promising that the groundwork laid over the past four years for major infrastructure investment will come to fruition in 2025.
Tabling his Invested in Hope budget on Thursday, Hill-Lewis said he hoped ratepayers would be understanding of the above-inflation property rates increase for the coming financial year.
He said the city’s budget is designed to balance the critical goals of building a city for the future while still supporting the most vulnerable residents.
The City of Cape Town is proposing a 7.96% increase in property taxes for 2025/26.
Hill-Lewis said the money will go towards more policing and major infrastructure investments in roads and community amenities.
“This is all literally being invested straight back into our plan to safeguard our city and its residents.”
The first R450,000 of properties valued under R5 million will be exempt from rates, the highest exemption of all metros.
“Even with this increase, Cape Town still has the lowest property rates for residential, commercial and industrial properties in South Africa, and that is calculated with the nationally applied rate-in-the-rand formula.”
Hill-Lewis said the city will continue to provide rates rebates of R2.4 billion and a further R2.8 billion in indigent relief for poorer households.