BOSA to study City of Cape Town’s new and revised budget following sustained public pressure

Build One South Africa (BOSA) welcomes the City of Cape Town’s decision to table revised budget proposals in today’s council sitting, including expanded rates relief measures and a second round of public participation. This marks a significant victory for residents across the metro who spoke out against unaffordable tariff hikes and demonstrates how sustained and persistent public pressure works.

The City’s about-turn is a direct result of the campaign mounted by civic organisations, ratepayer groups, and opposition parties, who submitted detailed inputs to the draft 2025/26 budget. This shows that when the public speaks, the City must listen. That’s how democracy ought to work.

BOSA will carefully review the updated budget and evaluate how it aligns with the issues we raised in our formal submission.

The City’s next budget cycle, for the 2026/27 financial year, will no doubt be influenced by the timing of the next local government elections, which are constitutionally scheduled between 2 November 2026 and 30 January 2027.

This puts the council under pressure to avoid a repeat of this year’s public backlash, both for the midterm adjustments and for next year’s full budget. BOSA will use this moment to call for the establishment of a permanent, structured forum that allows for genuine public engagement on future budgets, long before they are tabled in council.

Importantly, many residents continue to raise serious concerns about the legality of how tariffs are determined, especially the link between property values and service charges such as refuse removal.

Should the final budget still reflect these controversial cost structures, BOSA is prepared to support a legal challenge, once the approved budget confirms the basis for action.

We are under no pressure to rush this process. The very existence of a credible legal challenge will compel the City to take civic organisations seriously in its engagements.

Cape Town is one of the most unequal cities in the world. The City must ensure that its budgets do not deepen this inequality under the guise of market-based pricing. BOSA will continue to fight for a budget that is fair, affordable, and transparent, and one that puts the needs of residents first.