City of Cape Town faces challenges as court declares fixed tariffs unlawful
The City of Cape Town's legal representatives seen leaving the Western Cape High Court in December after judgment was reserved in the SAPOA and AfriForum matter.
Image: Theolin Tembo
In a significant ruling, the Western Cape High Court has declared the City of Cape Town's fixed tariffs unlawful and invalid due to inconsistencies with the Constitution, national legislation, and the City's own tariff by-law.
Judge President Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana, alongside Judges Andre Le Grange and Katharine Savage, delivered the judgment following arguments presented by the City, SAPOA, and AfriForum regarding the controversial charges in the 2025/2026 budget.
SAPOA and AfriForum challenged the City’s fixed tariffs and their decision to link certain fixed charges to property values.
In its main application, SAPOA asked for the three tariffs in the budget, namely the Cleaning Tariff, the Fixed Water Charge, and the Fixed Sanitation Charge, to be declared unconstitutional and invalid.
The City has maintained that its fixed charges are not rates but service charges.
On Thursday, the Bench ruled: “It is declared that the charges imposed on ratepayers by the City of Cape Town (the City)... in its 2025/2026 budget in respect of city-wide cleaning, water and sewerage, are unlawful and invalid insofar as they are inconsistent with the Constitution, national legislation and the City's Tariff By-law.
The court ordered that those charges are to be set aside with effect from 30 June 2026.
The court also dismissed the City’s counter-applications.
The City’s counter-application detailed that if the Court favoured the applicants’ interpretation that the Systems Act does not lawfully permit these charges, “it seeks a declaratory order that section 75A (read with s74(2)) of the Systems Act is ‘inconsistent with the Constitution’, and ‘unconstitutional and invalid to the extent of its inconsistency’ (together with related relief)”.
In December, the City argued that its challenge is not raised in reaction to action being taken against the City, but that “it is a consequence of the City’s chosen method of implementing the impugned charges”.
The court heard from the City’s legal representative, Advocate Karrisha Pillay SC, that if the fixed tariffs are scrapped, it would be extremely difficult for the City to recover the shortfall through other revenue sources, such as rates or surcharges.
The City has contended that without these fixed charges, it will be unable to deliver these services.
The Bench further ordered that the City is to pay the costs of the applicants in case, including those of two counsel on scale C; the applicants in opposing the City's counter-applications (namely Cogta), also including those of two counsel, as well as the Good Party, who had also been granted leave to intervene in the main application.
Coincidentally, Thursday, 30 April, is the last day for ratepayers to comment on the 2026/27 draft budget.
Speaking outside the court, the City’s Mayco Member for Finance, Siseko Mbandezi, said: “As the City of Cape Town, we note the judgment certainly, and we are going to read the judgment and possibly appeal the judgment.