Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has hit back at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s comments in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), saying the President’s attempt at “damage control” does not reflect the reality of Cape Town’s governance.
“The President is still trying to do damage control after he dared to speak the truth when he said that Cape Town and other towns governed by the DA are examples to follow. In fact, they are the only examples of progress and good governance in South Africa,” said Hill-Lewis.
“Where his party governs, there is only decay, corruption, and collapsed services. That is the sea of ruin that the President presides over.”
The mayor emphasised Cape Town’s commitment to pro-poor development, pointing out that the city allocates 75% of its R40 billion, three-year infrastructure budget directly to lower-income households.
“Just the 75% pro-poor portion of Cape Town’s record budget exceeds the entire capital budget of any other city by some distance. Not only does Cape Town spend far more on pro-poor infrastructure alone than the total capital budget of any other metro, it also has the highest levels of access to reliable service delivery,” he said.
According to the City, Cape Town has outspent Johannesburg and Tshwane combined on infrastructure to date, R25.8 billion versus R22.8 billion, and is on track to outspend all three Gauteng metros combined by the end of 2025/26.
Hill-Lewis also highlighted Cape Town’s strong performance across independent assessments. The city recently topped Ratings Afrika’s ranking of South African metros based on financial and performance data, is the only metro with a clean audit that includes service delivery performance, and offers the widest access to free basic services, according to StatsSA.
Census 2022 data shows Cape Town leading in essential service access, with 85.4% of households having piped water, 93.4% with flush toilets, and near-universal electricity in areas served by the metro. The city also provides reliable weekly refuse collection in formal areas and near-complete door-to-door service in informal settlements.
In the past financial year, 99% of the informal settlements grant was spent on upgrading and service delivery in these communities.
Over the next three years, the City plans to invest an estimated R3.4 billion in informal settlement improvements, including R310 million for water, sanitation, and waste installations, R39 million for electrification, R1.1 billion for bulk services, in-situ upgrades, roads, and emergency interventions, and R2.1 billion for BNG housing.
“The simple, irrefutable fact, is that despite the enormous challenges of poverty and unemployment that South Africans face (also thanks to the ANC), Cape Town is steadily moving forward while every other city in the country is moving backwards. That is the simple choice that every voter faces,” said Hill-Lewis.
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