City of Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya is confident that the Metro's first fully-funded draft budget since May 2021 will reinforce service delivery and promote economic growth.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
Ratepayers in the City of Tshwane can expect to pay more for municipal rates and services starting July 1 after Metro's draft budget for the 2025/26 financial year is tabled.
This is despite the Metro's efforts to keep electricity and water tariffs below the increases proposed by Eskom and Rand Water by absorbing the additional costs.
On Thursday, the Council tabled and passed the Metro's draft budget for 2024/25, which is now out for public participation.
The proposed budget includes a 12% electricity tariff hike, slightly lower than the 12.74% bulk tariff increment approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for Eskom.
The budget proposes a 13% increase in water tariffs, slightly below the 15.3% hike in bulk purchase tariffs imposed by Rand Water. Sanitation tariffs are set to rise by 6% under the proposed budget.
As part of its social relief efforts, the city plans to provide registered indigent households with a minimum of 12kℓ of water and 100 kWh of electricity free of charge.
A tariff increase of 4,6% is proposed for refuse removal services, and the city proposes introducing the City cleaning levy within the solid waste removal tariff structure.
Regarding property rates, a tariff increment of 5% was proposed for the 2024/25 financial year.
The tabled draft budget consists of an operating budget of R52,3 billion and a capital infrastructure investment budget of R2,4 billion for the 2025/26 financial year.
The multiparty coalition partners have hailed the draft budget as fully funded and as ensuring that they won't have to ask banks for loans.
Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya said the multiparty coalition government tabled the first fully-funded draft budget since May 2021.
She said the draft budget sets out a clear and strategic financial plan to reinforce service delivery, promote economic growth, and maintain long-term fiscal stability for a city.
Moya said: "In approaching the rates and tariffs for 2025/25, the City has done everything possible to keep increases in line with inflation while in approaching the rates and tariffs for 2025/25, the City has done everything possible to keep increases in line with inflation while seeking to minimise the impact of the increases from both Eskom and Rand Water."
She said the new general valuation roll has revised the deemed indigent threshold upward from R150 000 to R250,000 for 2025/26.
DA spokesperson for Finance Jacqui Uys criticised the budget, saying it shifts the burden of the city's financial recovery onto residents.
The DA opposes the new city cleaning levy, emphasising better governance as the solution.
Uys said: "The DA has raised concerns on the newly introduced tax for waste removal, called a city cleansing levy, and while it is uncertain who exactly this tax will be levied to, what is clear is that the introduction of this tax could have been avoided."
Freedom Front councillor Peter Meijer also expressed opposition, advocating for improved procurement processes and reduced fruitless expenditure.
The Freedom Front Plus rejected the proposed City cleaning levy, suggesting alternative solutions like technology and incentive measures.
"The Freedom Front Plus is convinced that the department could make better use of its current budget by, among other things, using technology, implementing incentive measures encouraging the public to report illegal dumping, and opening more landfill sites," he said.
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za