Cape Town ratepayers call for budget deadline extension after court ruling
The Western Cape High Court has ruled on the City of Cape Town’s tariff policy, prompting calls for an extension of the 2026/27 budget public participation period.
Image: File
The Cape Town Collective Ratepayers’ Association (CTCRA) is calling on the City of Cape Town to extend the public participation deadline for its 2026/27 draft municipal budget.
This follows a Western Cape High Court ruling on the City’s tariff policy last week, which found the City’s fixed charges for water, sanitation and cleaning to be unlawful.
The court found that the charges, introduced from July last year, are inconsistent with the Constitution, national legislation, and the City’s own Tariff By-law.
The ruling sets them aside with effect from Tuesday, June, 30.
The court also dismissed the City’s counter-applications, which had sought to declare parts of the Municipal Systems Act invalid and to suspend the ruling for two years.
In a statement on Thursday, the CTCRA said it welcomed the court’s judgment in cases brought by the South African Association of Property Owners (SAPOA) and AfriForum against the City.
The association said the court found that the City had acted unlawfully by linking fixed charges for water, sanitation and city-wide cleaning to property values.
The CTCRA, which participated as an amicus curiae in the SAPOA case, said the ruling materially affects the City’s draft budget and the fixed charges residents are paying and may pay in future.
Bas Zuidberg, who chairs both the CTCRA and the Noordhoek Ratepayers’ Association, said the organisation is calling for the public comment deadline on the draft budget to be extended to May 15.
“This will allow the public and their representatives to analyse the judgment and adjust their comments accordingly,” he said.
The association has also called on the City to urgently clarify what effect the judgment will have on the draft budget.
“If significant changes will be introduced, additional time will be required to analyse these changes,” Zuidberg said.
He acknowledged the time pressure facing the City in finalising the budget before the start of the new financial year. Still, he noted that the public was given an extra month to comment under similar circumstances last year.
Zuidberg said allowing a further 15 days for public participation would help “instil trust in the democratic principles of public participation”.