The City of Cape Town says it is making progress with its water meter upgrade initiative aimed at improving billing accuracy and service reliability.

More than 33,000 new mechanical water meters have replaced old ones, marking the halfway point of a wider rollout that began in August 2025 and is expected to see 62,000 meters replaced by the end of June 2026.

Officials say the initiative forms part of the City’s broader commitment to maintaining ageing infrastructure and ensuring residents are billed based on actual water consumption rather than estimates.

Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien says that in some cases, the programme also supports new water connections for landowners developing residential or commercial properties.

“This R72 million annual programme is vital for keeping our water infrastructure up to date and ensuring residents are billed accurately based on actual usage. An accurate reading saves both water and money as it reduces estimates and allows customers to track their water use, identify spikes, and detect possible leaks.”

Residents have also been reminded that this programme is separate from the City’s ongoing rollout of Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) smart water meters, which are being introduced in selected pilot areas in phases.

While both initiatives relate to water management, the current replacement programme focuses specifically on upgrading conventional mechanical meters rather than introducing full smart metering technology.

Wide rollout across the metro

The programme is being implemented across 621 areas in the City, with high-volume replacement zones (300 or more meters scheduled) including suburbs such as Table View, Plumstead, Sunningdale, Rondebosch, Wynberg, Athlone, Tokai, Durbanville, Parklands, Goodwood Estate, Hout Bay, and Parow North, among many others.

In addition to planned rollouts, the City also carries out ad hoc replacements where faulty or ageing meters are identified during routine checks.

Also read: Thousands of mechanical water meters will be replaced in the City from this month

The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee has greenlit a major private-sector upgrade of the Bellville Athletics track and Velodrome by the successful bidder from a 2009 tender to develop the precinct.

Under the proposal by the successful tenderer, the City will lease the Athletics track and Velodrome to the developer on a long-term basis, who will be responsible for upgrading those facilities and their continued operation as event venues, with the aim of transforming it into a premier world-class sporting and economic hub.

The developer will further purchase identified vacant erven for mixed-use development of the precinct surrounding the Velodrome and athletics track.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the approval from the Mayco comes after years of careful work and negotiation, which will ensure that the site is retained for public access.

“With a development partner investing hundreds of millions of private sector funding, the upgraded precinct and facilities will be well-maintained into the future for athletes, schools, and residents. This is a win-win scenario that the City and ratepayers could never have achieved with municipal funding alone. What’s more, the funds raised from the transaction will also benefit many more communities across our city through upgrades to regional sports facilities.”

According to the City, the upgrade to sporting facilities will enable:

• A world-class, multi-purpose indoor arena with a seating capacity of approximately 14 000 to 18 000 spectators
• A modern, competition-compliant athletics surface
• Improved spectator facilities and accessibility
• Support for schools, clubs, and community athletics programmes

The lease of the Velodrome and Athletics track is for an initial period of 50 years, with a conditional option to renew for a further 10 years.

The recommendation will now go to the City Council for final approval.

A tragic incident is under investigation in Macassar Heights, where a 15-year-old girl and her 70-year-old grandmother were found unresponsive in their home on Tuesday morning.

Police say the pair were discovered in a bedroom in Allium Street just before 7 am and were declared dead on the scene.

An inquest docket has been opened, with a post-mortem set to determine the exact cause of death.

While investigations are ongoing, the deaths are suspected to be linked to carbon monoxide poisoning, possibly from indoor use of a coal brazier during cold weather.

Authorities have repeatedly warned about the dangers of using open flames or coals inside poorly ventilated spaces, as the gas produced is odourless and can be fatal within minutes.

The incident has left the Macassar community in shock, with the teenager believed to be a learner at a local high school.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has joined calls for drug dealers to not get bail and has written to the National Prosecuting Authority in this regard. 

His letter follows a visit to Mitchells Plain, where he saw a suspected drug dealer back in the area days after he was arrested by metro police officers in Woodlands.  

The suspect was allegedly found with 30 packets of tik on 9 April, and was later granted R3,000 bail “after-hours by the standby prosecutor, without a hearing by a magistrate or any opposition from SAPS or the NPA”. 

Hill-Lewis claims the individual also had prior charges of murder and assault against him.  

“This is a person with prior charges of murder, assault and drug possession, who is preying constantly on young people and is a danger to the community, and yet the police and NPA did not oppose bail. This is a shocking outcome and we will be back again and again until a person like this is behind bars,” said Hill-Lewis in a statement. 

As such, the mayor wrote to the Regional Director of Public Prosecutions to raise his concerns, noting that prosecutors must be instructed to oppose bail for drug dealers in each case. 

“Prosecutors should amplify the voice of communities when calling on magistrates to deny bail for those who are preying on our youth, our schools, and neighbourhoods. Selling tik to our children can never be a crime where bail is simply not opposed by the prosecutor.” 

Hill-Lewis used this opportunity to reiterate that the City’s appeal for investigative powers to be devolved to municipalities, which he believes will increase the low conviction rates for gang-, gun- and drug-related crimes and support under-resourced police stations. 

“As it stands, our officers routinely make over 2 000 drug arrests annually and participate in over 1 000 drug raids. With investigative powers, we could seriously disrupt the drug trade, which fuels violent crime and gangsterism.”

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