Cape Town’s funding model fails Khayelitsha and Langa residents

Budget constraints, ageing infrastructure, illegal connections, vandalism and violent protests are among the major factors hampering the City of Cape Town’s ability to deliver basic services in Langa Flats and Khayelitsha.

This is according to a damning report by public protector Kholeka Gcaleka on Tuesday.

She released the findings of a systemic investigation into the city’s alleged failure to provide basic municipal services in the two townships. The investigation, launched in 2022, followed complaints received during the public protector’s annual roadshows in the Western Cape in 2022 and 2023.

“The investigation was born directly from the voices of the people on the ground,” Gcaleka said.

The report examines the city’s delivery of essential municipal services to residents of the N2 Gateway, Joe Slovo — also known as Langa Flats — and Khayelitsha. Gcaleka stressed that the provision of basic municipal services is “not merely an administrative function” but a constitutional obligation that directly affects the dignity, safety and wellbeing of residents.

Residents complained about persistent sewage overflows, poor maintenance of communal areas, potholes, water leaks, inadequate communication on housing projects, delays in issuing title deeds and the city’s failure to adequately respond to service delivery complaints. They also alleged they were forced to contribute R100 per household to hire someone to clean communal spaces despite paying rent to the city.

The investigation found that waste collection services are provided four days a week in Langa Flats and five days a week in Khayelitsha. However, illegal dumping, the disposal of foreign objects into sewer systems and illegal electricity connections have worsened service delivery problems by causing sewer blockages and preventing municipal workers from carrying out repairs efficiently.

Gcaleka said inspections also found illegal sewer connections in Langa Flats and parts of SST-Marikana, resulting in overloaded sewer lines that frequently collapse. While the city has employed Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers to clean communal areas, she noted that these appointments remain dependent on available funding.

Mixed healthcare experience

The investigation further examined access to healthcare and found that though clinics generally operate during the day without permanent doctors, professional nurses are available to provide treatment and referrals. Residents reported mixed experiences regarding access to healthcare, but the investigation found that most clinics are located within reasonable proximity to nearby hospitals.

A key finding was that financial constraints continue to undermine the city’s ability to address long-standing infrastructure failures. Gcaleka said the city repeatedly indicated that critical interventions, including replacing ageing sewer infrastructure, upgrading CCTV systems, maintaining public facilities and improving security, could not be fully implemented because of budget limitations.

She said municipal resources had also been diverted to respond to land invasions, vandalism, criminality and escalating maintenance demands, placing further strain on the city’s finances.

“These factors have increased the financial burden on the municipality and affected its ability to progressively realise residents’ constitutional right to access basic municipal services,” Gcaleka said.

She added that replacing collapsed sewer infrastructure and addressing service delivery challenges in informal settlements required substantial investment and co-ordinated support from all spheres of government.

Funding model questions

While acknowledging that municipalities are constitutionally obliged to progressively realise socioeconomic rights using the resources available, Gcaleka said the investigation raised broader questions about whether the current intergovernmental fiscal framework adequately supports municipalities facing such infrastructure backlogs.

“I do not suggest that additional funding should automatically be allocated to the city. Rather, government should urgently assess whether the current funding model sufficiently enables municipalities to fulfil their constitutional obligations relating to the provision of basic municipal services,” she said.

The public protector recommended that within six months, the minister of finance assess whether the current intergovernmental fiscal framework, equitable share allocations and other funding mechanisms adequately support municipalities facing systemic service delivery challenges.

Within 60 days of completing the assessment, the minister must submit a report setting out the findings, whether the current funding model is adequate, any measures taken to strengthen it, and further recommendations to improve municipalities’ capacity to deliver basic services.

She also called on the ministers of human settlements and co-operative governance and traditional affairs to strengthen intergovernmental co-ordination, improve alignment between national, provincial and local government planning, and better co-ordinate funding and policy to support sustainable human settlements. The mayor of Cape Town was directed to ensure the remedial action is implemented by the municipal manager and to table the report before the municipal council within 60 days.

Gcaleka said the city had worked with her office throughout the investigation and had already addressed some of the complaints. However, she said more work was needed to ensure the equitable distribution of resources and improve service delivery in townships in line with the constitution.

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