Budget 2026: Cape Town Mayor urges Godongwana to avoid municipal funding cuts

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has urged Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to avoid any cuts to municipal funding when he tables the national budget in Parliament on Tuesday.

Hill-Lewis noted that cities cannot afford reductions to infrastructure investment or their equitable share from the national fiscus.

He argued there is room to cut waste and inefficiency at national level, without shifting the burden onto metros and provinces.

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The mayor said local government funding is essential to maintain and improve basic services, especially for the poor.

He's also called on Godongwana to act on President Cyril Ramaphosa longstanding commitments to expand infrastructure funding for cities.

"Funding municipal infrastructure for our city at the requisite scale to ensure the future success of our city is a tremendous stretch, and we've done well in Cape Town these last few years to mobilise as much funding as we can to ensure that our city remains successful.

“To have funding removed from the national budget for infrastructure investment would be a blow to functioning cities going forward."