“Cape Town water tax to be confirmed by end of January” – De Lille

The Mayor of Cape Town Patricia de Lille has moved to remind residents why a water tax is being proposed for the city, as it battles a drought crisis.

In a statement issued on Friday morning, the Mayor’s executive office confirmed that they would listen to public comment on the issue until Monday 15th January, before being tabled at Council for its consideration at the end of January. Any drought charge would also have to be approved by the Minister of Finance.

De Lille’s proposals would see the water tax come in to affect from February onwards, and would last for a further three years. The Mayor says that the enforced drop in water consumption has hit public services hard. The City’s Water and Sanitation department is expected to make a loss of R1.7bn this financial year.

How much will I have to pay for water tax?

(Based on property value)

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Less water usage means less payment for that water, and has lead to a shortfall in funds for the local government department. De Lille insists the measure is not punitive, but accepts the irony of residents now facing a charge for trying to comply with the rules.

The water tax itself would be projected to generate R420 million for the city in the 2017/18 financial year, then a further R1 billion a year subsequently. This would help prop up repairs to a damaged system, as well as easing fiscal worries for staff.

Who will have to pay the water tax?

• A total 464,200 out of 707,800 Cape Town households will be affected – that’s 65.5% of all properties in the region
• Only 52,500 houses will be made to pay more than R150 month
• Average charge for non-indigent properties will be R73 a month
• Charge applies to all residential houses worth R400,000 or more

Capetonians are being urged to see the bigger picture here. Yes, the “use less, pay more” surcharge will by no means be a popular decision. But the Mother City is about to become the first coastal metropolis to actually run out of water.

This is indeed a desperate measure for desperate times.