Geordin Hill-Lewis, the Mayor of Cape Town, has introduced a robust draft budget totaling R76.4 billion for the city’s financial year of 2024/25. Notably, the budget sets forth a record-breaking infrastructure investment of R12.1 billion for the upcoming year and an impressive commitment of nearly R40 billion over the subsequent three years. Hill-Lewis underscores the city’s dedication to fortifying its infrastructure, stating, “Our mission is to foster the functionality of Cape Town through unprecedented investments in its infrastructure because when Cape Town thrives, so do its residents.”

Hill-Lewis anticipates that the city’s substantial R39.7 billion infrastructure investment over the next three years will generate approximately 130,000 employment opportunities, primarily within the construction sector. “Since assuming office in November 2021, Cape Town has witnessed the addition of 363,000 new jobs, as reported by StatsSA,” he further highlights.

Reflecting on the city’s economic vitality, Hill-Lewis observes a robust growth trajectory, with increased employment across various sectors including manufacturing, call centers, and entrepreneurship.

The budget allocates R480 million this year towards initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact of load shedding, with a comprehensive plan set to safeguard the city against four stages of load shedding by 2026.

Over the course of three years, the city plans to allocate R722 million towards independent power purchases and R4 billion towards upgrading the electrical grid to accommodate a dynamic and decentralized energy landscape.

Moreover, Cape Town aims to bolster its service delivery resilience against load shedding, earmarking R680 million over three years for this purpose. Initiatives include enhancing energy efficiency in municipal buildings, implementing small-scale embedded generation at city facilities, and establishing a solar photovoltaic plant at Atlantis, among other strategic investments.

The city has also committed R5.5 billion to bolstering safety and security measures. Over the next three years, R610 million will be invested in cutting-edge security technology, building upon the R200 million already invested in the current financial year. This includes allocations for CCTV cameras, dash cams, aerial surveillance, gunshot detection systems, drones, and digital coordination tools across safety services.

Hill-Lewis further reveals plans to allocate R34 million towards training 1,000 new Metro Police candidates in the current budget year, with an additional R138 million set aside for procuring new vehicles over the next three years.

The budget also prioritizes public transport, with over R7 billion slated for investment in this sector over the next three years. For the 2024/25 financial year specifically, R764 million has been earmarked for streetlight repairs, while R826 million has been allocated for road maintenance and pothole repairs.