Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced that the City of Cape Town has broken its all-time infrastructure spending record, even surpassing its FIFA World Cup infrastructure investment in the City to achieve job-creating economic growth.
The mayor addressed the city council on 27 July, emphasising that the City had invested R6.94 billion in infrastructure during the 2022/23 financial year, demonstrating the administration’s commitment to turning budgetary promises into tangible results.
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According to the mayor, Safety and Security (99.6%), Water and Sanitation (95%) and Energy (96.9%) were the top-performing directorates, with Human Settlements spending 99.3% of its R880 million capital budget.
Looking ahead, Cape Town has allocated an R11 billion budget for infrastructure in 2023/2024 and aims for a 41.5% increase in infrastructure spending compared to the previous year. Over a three-year period, it plans to achieve a staggering 134% increase in spending, amounting to a total investment of R43 billion.
This three-year infrastructure plan is expected to directly create 135 000 jobs in Cape Town, in addition to fostering broader economic growth benefits. The City has experienced four consecutive quarters of job growth, leading to a new record of 1.7 million people employed in Cape Town, with 279 000 new jobs added in the last four quarters.
Mayor Hill-Lewis expressed his enthusiasm, stating, ‘We have just clocked the highest capital expenditure the City has ever achieved – even exceeding the mega projects before the 2010 World Cup. This year, we have invested a record R6,94 billion in capital investment and infrastructure, or 93.5% of our planned budget.’
He continued, ‘What makes this number even more impressive is the fact that this was the first time ever that the City didn’t allow any mid-year write-downs on the planned budget. This speaks to a significant cultural adjustment and really puts that 93.5% spent on planned capital investment into perspective.’
The mayor further emphasised the importance of investing in tangible projects that unlock the City’s potential and attract investors, creating a foundation for economic recovery. He highlighted the necessity of building for the future, including infrastructure development such as pipelines, power lines and roads, as a means to foster a city of hope and, ultimately, a country of hope.
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To address concerns about equitable distribution, Mayor Hill-Lewis revealed that 74% of the City’s R11 billion infrastructure budget for 2023/24 will directly benefit lower-income households. These strategic investments are facilitating economic progress, with Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain leading in the number of approved residential building plans for the coming year.
In light of recent incidents involving the collapse of critical infrastructure in major South African cities, Mayor Hill-Lewis underscored the urgency for metros to increase their infrastructure investments. He emphasised that the City’s planned three-year infrastructure spending will surpass the combined investments of Johannesburg and Durban.
He made reference to the explosion on Johannesburg’s Bree Street, indicating that neglected and chaotic underground infrastructure can have severe consequences, compromising residents’ safety and well-being.
‘While it is still to be determined whether the blast was due to a natural gas leak, a buildup of sewer gas or a combination of the two, it is clear that the city’s neglected and chaotic underground infrastructure played a major part.
‘The failure to clean and maintain sewer pipes, the failure to expand sanitation infrastructure as a city grows and the failure to comply with safety protocols in the planning and building of infrastructure not only robs residents of dignified services, it can also be deadly,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
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The mayor concluded his address by summarising the progress achieved during his administration’s first full financial year, including efforts to end loadshedding, support renewable energy tenders, sewer pipe replacements, law enforcement enhancements, housing initiatives and various development projects.
Mayor Hill-Lewis also acknowledged the City’s progress in smaller initiatives such as building repairs, community pool reopenings and the restoration of the iconic City Hall clock, symbolising the restoration of hope and pride in Cape Town.
‘And besides these big things, we are making progress in smaller but no less important things too. We are fixing buildings and re-opening community swimming pools and I feel that sense of hope well up even when I see our newly-repaired old clock at the top of City Hall, which has not worked for nearly two decades but which now keeps the time perfectly,’ he concluded.