As the deadline for public participation on the City of Cape Town’s draft budget for 2025/26 approaches on May 2, the Noordhoek Ratepayers' Association (NRPA) is urging residents to sign a petition opposing the proposed budget.

Initiated by the Cape Town Collective Ratepayers’ Association (CTCRA) — a coalition of more than 50 civic organisations — the petition has gained significant traction, particularly among communities in the Far South.

The petition raises concerns over the City’s proposed shift to fixed monthly charges for essential services such as water, electricity, sanitation, and cleaning.

These changes are not only seen as unfair but may also be legally questionable.

Both the NRPA and the Fish Hoek Valley Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association raised the alarm earlier this month, warning that the budget’s structural changes could result in monthly increases of up to 30% for many households — especially those in properties valued above R3 million.

The NRPA is particularly concerned about the financial burden these increases will place on residents, especially pensioners and those already struggling with rising living costs.

The petition highlights several pressing concerns regarding the City of Cape Town’s proposed budget for 2025/26 including rate increases of up to 30%, driven by higher property values; the City’s move from usage-based billing to property value-based charges for essential services like electricity, water, sanitation, and cleaning; and 11.4% increase to the City’s budget;

Mayco member for finance, Siseko Mbandezi, when announcing the budget, said the City is investing R39.7bn in infrastructure over the next three years for better water and sanitation, roads, electricity services, public transport and more.

He said for every R1 in property rates, Cape Town residents fund Policing, Traffic, Fire and Disaster services (29 cents); infrastructure investment (14 cents); free and subsidised services to the poor (15 cents); customer care, IT and service delivery (15 cents); parks, public spaces, environment and libraries (13 cents); MyCiTi public transport (six cents); economic growth, tourism and informal trading programmes (four cents); city clinics and health services (four cents).

"There are also material changes in the tariffs for water and sanitation and urban waste management in the way that it is calculated and how it will be displayed on accounts, but not necessarily in the cost impact. Importantly, all income from rates and tariffs go toward paying for service delivery.

"In general, it must be pointed out that the City of Cape Town offers the lowest property rates for commercial, industrial, and residential properties, based on an analysis of the 2025/26 draft budgets tabled by each metro. The rate-in-the-rand is a statutory formula used by municipalities to calculate property rates. The formula shows how much a person would pay in rates for every rand of their property value," said Mbandezi.

Cape Argus