In a letter to the minister ahead of this week’s Medium-term Budget Policy Statement, Hill-Lewis called on the minister not to cut R100 million in housing conditional grants to the City as part of nationwide cuts. Rather than cutting spending that actually delivers to the poor, cuts should come from government departments that serve no meaningful purpose, and from unnecessary expenditure like R3,5 billion for Ministerial VIP security.
‘We in Cape Town object in the strongest possible terms to these anti-poor budget cuts, which will come directly from housing and informal settlement budgets servicing our most vulnerable communities.’ ‘As South Africa’s Finance Minister, you have an imminent opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to building the kind of South Africa that we are trying to build here in Cape Town – progressive, pro-poor and pro-growth.’
‘The census confirms that Cape Town has rocketed up the population rankings to be the second most populous city – just 100 000 people behind Jo’burg. In fact, Cape Town will soon overtake Jo’burg as South Africa’s biggest city, and will very soon cross over the 5 million person mark. ‘Raised subsidies are a must given that the national social housing subsidy regime has not changed in five years, has not kept pace with inflation, and has not done enough to really ignite the viability of the social housing sector,’ said the Mayor.