What is a budget?

A budget is a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is an organisational plan stated in monetary terms. Its purpose is to provide a forecast of revenues and expenditures and enable the actual financial operation of the City to be measured against the forecast.

See all our 2026/2027 budget documents.

How much is the City's budget?

The City approved a budget of R87,71 billion for the 2026/27 financial year in June 2026. The financial year begins on 1 July.

The budget is divided into an operating budget and a capital budget. For 2026/27 the original operating budget is R74,62 billion while the original capital budget is R13,09 billion.

The operating budget is allocated for ongoing expenses, such as salaries, repairs, maintenance and general expenses that the City incurs, including providing services such as health, transport and roads, libraries, parks, electricity and water. The bulk of the capital budget is dedicated to spending money on core infrastructural services for water, sanitation, electricity, solid waste, human settlements, transport, roads, and stormwater projects.

Where does the City's revenue come from?

The City collects revenue from various sources. To maintain sustainable service delivery, we have to ensure sustainable revenue streams from our revenue generating services.

Property Rates and Service Charges are important sources of income of the City’s revenue basket. Other sources include tariffs charged for water and sanitation, electricity and solid waste management, as well as other revenue veins such as investment income and National and Provincial grants.

What does the City spend its revenue on?

The City spends its revenue inter alia on the following:

• Water, electricity, sanitation, and refuse removal
• Transport and traffic services
• Security in the form of Metropolitan Police Services and law enforcement
  
• Repairs and maintenance to infrastructure and facilities
• Provision of housing opportunities
• Relief for the poor in the form of rebates
• Fire and emergency services
• Parks
• Library services
• Sport and recreation
• Construction of Early Childhood Development Centres
• Social Development and Early Childhood Development programmes
• Primary healthcare and environmental healthcare

What state are Cape Town’s finances in?

The City’s finances are well managed: In 2025 the City received an unqualified audit report, from the Auditor-General of South Africa. The City has received unqualified audits every year since 2006. In May 2026, Moody’s Investors Service, a global ratings agency, affirmed the City of Cape Town’s National Scale rating of Aa2.za and upgraded the City’s outlook to positive from stable.

Read more about our financial status and excellent credit rating.

How can residents be involved in the budget process?

The City encourages public participation in the budgetary process. A draft budget can be viewed at all City public libraries and is open to comment after it is tabled at Council in March each year. Once the deadline for comments has been met, amendments are considered and the final budget is usually approved by Council at the end of May/June each year. New rates and tariffs are implemented at the start of the new financial year, being 1 July.

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