Cape Town tables most inclusive social package for indigents relief, pensioners
15 April 2025
Of South Africa’s metros, the City of Cape Town has tabled the most inclusive social assistance package for indigent relief and rates rebates based on an analysis of the 2025/26 draft budgets for each metro. This is line with Statistics South Africa’s new non-financial census of municipalities, published in March 2025, which finds that Cape Town has the widest free basic services reach. See the full comparative analysis here and StatsSA’s data here.
to other cities on all the main pro-poor criteria, including: For 2025/26, Cape Town’s social assistance package compares favourably
• Highest Free Water allocation to indigent customers (15kl)
• Widest qualifying criteria for 100% rates relief (R450 000 property value, <R7 500 monthly income)
• Widest qualifying criteria for lifeline electricity (R500 000 property value, <R7 500 monthly income)
• Pensioners: widest rates rebate and lifeline electricity criteria (<R22 000 monthly income, regardless of property value)
Cape Town also has the highest levels of residents benefitting from free basic services, according to StatsSA’s latest non-financial census data for municipalities released on 27 March 2025.
‘Cape Town’s new Invested in Hope budget takes another major step towards our vision of building a city of hope for all. The budget contains SA’s most inclusive social package to help lower income households and pensioners, as well as the country’s biggest ever pro-poor infrastructure budget of R39,7bn over three years, 75% of which will directly benefit lower income households.
‘Over the next three years, these investments alone will create around 130 000 construction-related jobs. With SA’s lowest unemployment rate, Cape Town is already the city where a person is most likely to find a job, and we plan to do much more to grow our economy in the years to come to the benefit especially of lower income households,’ said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Lowest property rates
Cape Town’s ratepayers further benefit from the lowest property rates of South Africa’s metros for commercial, industrial, and residential property rating categories based on the rate-in-Rand rate, a statutory formula used by municipalities to calculate property rates.
The next metro, Johannesburg is 42% higher for commercial and industrial property rates, and 33% higher for residential property rates. Despite significantly lower rates than Johannesburg, Cape Town will invest 63% more in infrastructure over the next three years (R39,7 bn vs R24,3 bn).
The first R450 000 of a property’s value is also rates-free for properties valued under R5 million in Cape Town, the highest relief of its kind in South Africa, compared to the first R300 000 being rates-free in Johannesburg.
2025-26 Rate in Rand - Residential
Cape Town – 0,007159
Johannesburg – 0,009545
Tshwane – 0,01172
Mangaung – 0,011068
Ekurhuleni – 0,011520
Ethekwini – 0,014254
Buffalo City – 0,015122
2025-26 Rate in Rand - Commercial
Cape Town – 0,016824
Ekurhuleni – 0,023050
Johannesburg – 0,023862
Tshwane – 0.02929
Ethekwini – 0,036234
Mangaung – 0,037642
Buffalo City – 0,037804
2025-26 Rate in Rand - Industrial
Cape Town – 0,016824
Johannesburg – 0,023862
Ekurhuleni – 0,028810
Tshwane – 0.02929
Mangaung – 0,037642
Buffalo City – 0,037804
Ethekwini – 0,047200
*Nelson Mandela Bay formulas were unavailable at the time of writing. NMB 2023/24 formulas: Residential (0,012073), Commercial (0,024146), Industrial (0,030183).
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
