Around 100 000 families have ‘semigrated’ from Gauteng to Cape Town over the past 36 months, placing increased pressure on the city’s infrastructure. This is according to Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who spoke at the annual City-Cape Chamber engagement this week.

The Mayor outlined the City’s budget priorities and major projects for the coming years, which include major water and sanitation works, investment in safety and security, and social support programmes.

He says the expanded infrastructure budget was also a response to the significant growth in the number of Cape Town households, which far exceeds population growth.

Hill-Lewis said the City’s infrastructure programme now exceeds that of any other metro and is aimed at avoiding urban decay challenges experienced elsewhere in the country.

He noted that household growth currently stands at 3.8%, a key factor in determining infrastructure demand.

“If we continued down the path we were on, infrastructure would have been OK for a long time – it’s not like it was close to collapse like we are seeing in other places. But the trajectory was concerning,” Hill-Lewis said.

The Mayor emphasised that while the City had been investing in infrastructure in previous years, spending levels were not sufficient to keep up with rising pressure. He described the situation as concerning at the time, prompting a significant acceleration in infrastructure investment.

Projects in the pipeline include a new desalination plant and a large-scale water recycling public-private partnership, aimed at preventing a repeat of a Day Zero scenario.

Hill-Lewis also acknowledged challenges raised by Cape Chamber members, including property rates, planning delays, social housing, electricity tariffs and road congestion.