Cape Town - Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to put a stop to “anti-poor” cuts to housing grants and other pro-poor funding streams to municipalities and provinces.
Godongwana is due to deliver his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) this Wednesday, 30 October.
Hill-Lewis said the City hopes for a clear signal from the minister that there will be no further cuts to housing and informal settlements grants following a R107m slashing of grant-funding to Cape Town as part of nationwide cuts last year.
Overall, the City is calling on the Finance Minister to:
- Stop the nationwide anti-poor cuts to housing grant-funding
- Massively scale up infrastructure funding for cities
- Pay Cape Town’s fair equitable share aligned to the City’s growing population
“Housing and informal settlement upgrading grants are among the most pro-poor and progressive ways you could possibly spend your budget, and Cape Town has an excellent record of spending at least 99% of this grant-funding over the last five years,” said Hill-Lewis.
The mayor further urged the Finance Minister to massively scale up infrastructure funding for cities following a commitment by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his 2024 State of the Nation Address.
“Cape Town is investing a South African record of R39,5bn in infrastructure over three years, 75% of which will directly benefit lower income households. But we’d like to do even more, in fact we need to.
“It is important that the Finance Minister follows through on the President’s promise of new and innovative infrastructure funding schemes alongside measures to simplify regulations and cut red tape,” said Hill-Lewis
“Our metro is about to cross the five million mark to become SA’s most populous city. We are determined to ensure Cape Town is an even better place to live for all by investing in infrastructure now to meet the future needs of a growing city.
“We call on the Finance Minister to ensure Cape Town receives a fair equitable share in the upcoming budget aligned to the City’s growing population confirmed by the recent Census,” the mayor said.
Cape Argus