2026 Overall IDP and Budget – City of Ekurhuleni

1. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH

The need for economic development and investment attraction, while facing operational and infrastructural challenges. Key issues include a sinkhole on Rondebult Road impacting local businesses, with remediation costs estimated at R200 million; a recommendation for the city to establish its own asphalt plant to address road maintenance delays; and calls for increased investment in urban centres to combat sprawl and deteriorating environments.

2. SAFETY AND SECURITY

The IDP highlights ongoing crime concerns in the municipality, citing a 12.7% increase in unreported crimes. The survey indicates a rising crime rate, emphasising safety issues, though findings primarily rely on perception-based data rather than empirical statistics. SAPOA recommends incorporating actual crime data and spatial analysis into the IDP to improve understanding of crime dynamics, thus enabling the development of targeted interventions.

3. INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES

Challenges in water and electricity supply affect operational stability. Water outages hinder business operations, attributed to rising demand and ageing infrastructure. The city is seeking funding for improvements, with R24 billion allocated for water and wastewater projects. Greater transparency in reporting funding allocations and operational expenditures for maintenance is needed. Electricity supply reliability remains a challenge, with frequent outages due to ageing infrastructure, theft, and vandalism. The city has implemented response teams to address issues, which should be enhanced for better network stability.

4. SUMMARY OF MAJOR TARIFFS

Water +14%, sewer +8.35%, electricity +8.76-9.01% far exceed CPI and risk affordability; refuse +6 %, property rates +3.7%. SAPOA seeks impact analyses and questions long-term revenue sufficiency given the zero-rate increase.

1. FINANCIAL STABILITY AND REVENUE PROTECTION

The ambitious target of a 90% collection rate is essential for the financial sustainability of the 2027/27 MTREF. To improve revenue collection, the effective implementation of the Revenue Enhancement Strategy is crucial, which includes accelerated billing for unregistered properties and improved data integrity to lessen disputes. Ongoing issues like billing inaccuracies and delays need resolution to maintain confidence, particularly in the commercial sector, along with improved administrative efficiency and transparency to avoid unfair burdens on compliant ratepayers.

2. TARIFF ADJUSTMENTS AND AFFORDABILITY

Proposed hikes of water +14%, sanitation +8.35%, electricity + 8.76-9.01%, and refuse +6% exceed CPI and will strain households and businesses amid % GDP growth and high unemployment. Increasing property rates at 3.7% offers a balancing measure for future revenue capacity. SAPOA greater transparency, especially for commercial users facing compounded cost pressures.

3. EXPENDITURE MANAGEMENT AND COST DRIVERS

Clarity is needed on the factors driving employee cost increases, particularly given financial constraints and the city’s need for expenditure discipline. Recommendations for the city include strengthening procurement oversight, reducing unnecessary spending and aligning expenditure with core service priorities. Additionally, outsourced services represent 15% of the total operation budget, with a suggestion to limit costs related to road infrastructure maintenance.

4. INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

The MTREF indicates that the city will refrain from borrowing in the 2026/27 financial year, which may hinder infrastructure rollout speed and scale. The capital budget depends on conditional grants and own revenue, potentially delaying infrastructure delivery amid existing backlogs and growth pressures.