Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced that the City successfully invested R9,5bn in infrastructure in 2024/25, an all-time record for a South African metro. Overall, the City spent 92,3% of its capital budget, with Safety and Security the top-performer for percentage spent – at 99,7% – while Water and Sanitation was the top spender in rands, with 95% spent of its sizeable R4bn capital budget.
In an address to City Council, Mayor Hill-Lewis said the only way for Cape Town to avoid the crises that have befallen every other city in South Africa is to invest in infrastructure at a much higher level.
‘It’s one thing to allocate record budgets for infrastructure, and quite another thing to actually deliver these large projects in a very complex construction environment. This result is most pleasing – with a full 92,3% and R9,5 billion of our capital investment budget having been successfully invested. This shows that we are delivering on our pledges to invest in more of the basic infrastructure that makes the city work.
‘We are building Cape Town, project by project, into a city of hope with a growing economy that is able to absorb many more people into work,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
Safety and Security – with the best percentage spend of 99,7% of its R472m capital budget – largely invested these funds in fire station and metro police training facility upgrades, vehicles, and safety technology, such as CCTV, bodycams and digital coordination systems.
‘We all know how important their work is to Cape Town’s communities, and what a big focus Safety and Security is in our new budget for the coming financial year. This performance really speaks to their intent to do whatever it takes to make our city safer and take back our neighbourhoods from criminals,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
Other top performers for percentage spend in 2024/25 were Urban Waste Management (96.3% of R400m budget), and Corporate Services (97,4% of R432m).
At 95% spent of its R4bn capital budget, Water and Sanitation was the top spender in the City’s group of four directorates which each need to invest over R1 billion per year in infrastructure, which together make up 79% of the entire capital budget.
‘Water & Sanitation projects accounted for almost 40c out of every infrastructure rand spent in the city this past financial year. To achieve a spend performance of almost 95% on such a big budget takes some doing.
‘The projects funded by the Water & Sanitation capital budget are a vital part of realising our vision for Cape Town and future-proofing our city for decades to come.
‘Every section of pipe replacement, every wastewater works upgrade, every pump station that gets refurbished, every source of water that is added to the City supply, is an investment in the dignity and health of Capetonians, and is literally changing people’s lives,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
Other directorates in investing over R1 billion this year include Energy (92,5% spent), Human Settlements (92%), and Urban Mobility (84,4%).
Invested in Hope Budget highlights for 2025/26
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis addressing Council on 30 July regarding the City’s capital budget performance for 2024/25. Council was opened by the Cape Town Children’s Choir.
Over the next three years, Cape Town plans to spend an SA-record R40bn on infrastructure under the Invested in Hope Budget, with 75% of this spending directly benefitting lower-income households.
- Over 700 new municipal police officers, including dedicated neighbourhood policing for every ward, and over 200 officers to protect service delivery teams from criminals
- R4,5 billion for the new MyCiTi route linking Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and various other communities to Wynberg/Claremont
- Bringing down sewer spills and water pipe bursts by replacing 100km of sewer and 50km of water pipes per year, a R2bn project
- Major bulk sewer upgrades such as the Cape Flats sewer upgrade, which is SA’s biggest sewer upgrade project
- Road upgrades, repairs and congestion relief – R3,5bn
- Informal settlement upgrades – R3,4bn
- Street light upgrading and repair – R1bn
- CRU rental unit upgrades and maintenance – R2bn
- Public Transport station upgrades – R397m
- Informal trading infrastructure upgrades – R272m.
