South Africa’s Top Service City

Cape Town stands out as the city with the best service delivery in South Africa, and the gap is significant. At the launch of the city’s latest Infrastructure Report, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis highlighted the city’s impressive performance.

In a nutshell, Cape Town boasts a larger infrastructure investment than all three Gauteng metros – City of Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni – combined. The DA-run metro has a substantial R120-billion infrastructure pipeline for the next decade, a record high in South African history.

Cape Town Leads the Way in Service Delivery

Mayor Hill-Lewis announced that this investment will create approximately 130,000 construction-related jobs over the next 10 years, generating a positive economic impact of around R17 billion. The city’s draft capital budget for 2027/28 is R14.7 billion, representing significant growth from R6.9 billion in 2022/23.

The capital budget will be allocated as follows:

• 45% – Basic services (water, sanitation, energy)
• 18% – Transport
• 11% – Housing
• 8% – Public spaces/amenities

A Boost for Low-Income Households

Notably, 75% of Cape Town’s infrastructure budget will directly benefit low-income households. Mayor Hill-Lewis emphasized that the city’s focus over the next three years will be on improving water, sanitation, roads, and sporting facilities to help build communities.

The city will prioritize funding for the following projects:

• R4.5 billion for new MyCiTi bus routes, South Africa’s biggest public transport project.
• R2 billion to fix or replace burst pipes.
• R4 billion in major bulk sewer upgrades.
• R3.5 billion for road upgrades, repairs, and congestion relief.
• R3.4 billion for informal settlement upgrades.
• R1 billion for streetlight upgrades.
• R397 million for public transport station upgrades.
• R272 million for informal trading infrastructure.

What are your thoughts? Do you think any other city can match the DA-run Western Cape for best service delivery in SA? Share your opinions in the comments section below.