CAPE TOWN - Cape Town is a city of extraordinary beauty and significant economic opportunity. However, a July 2026 Public Protector report described it as “a tale of two cities”, making findings of maladministration and improper prejudice against the municipality.
The investigation followed complaints from residents of the N2 Gateway flats. It concluded that municipal resources were not being distributed equitably. Persistent gang violence and a housing backlog have also plagued the city for years.
The cost of living in Cape Town has come into sharp focus, with the high cost of housing closer to economic opportunities pushing residents further away from jobs and essential services.
The City has allocated R114-million in its adjusted budget for an N2 Edge safety project.
The wall, which will run along a 9km stretch of the N2, is intended to improve safety alongside increased highway patrols. However, various groups have accused the City of further entrenching apartheid-era spatial planning through the project.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has governed Cape Town for two decades and is seeking to retain control of the municipality.
READ: DA rejects claims multimillion N2 wall signals failure to develop communities
Cape Town Mayor and DA mayoral candidate Geordin Hill-Lewis and Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) candidate Dr Pieter Mulder appeared to share similar views during eNCA’s We The Nation election debate in Cape Town on Sunday.
African National Congress (ANC) candidate Jerimia Thuynsma, however, argued that the City needed to focus on its constitutional responsibilities.
Thuynsma said the City had faced several findings relating to what he described as exclusionary practices that were inconsistent with its constitutional obligations.
The Western Cape High Court has declared the municipality’s fixed charges for citywide cleaning, water and sewerage services unlawful and unconstitutional.
“We don’t want a situation the Constitutional Court to have findings against us in terms of spatial apartheid,” Thuynsma said.
The DA and FF Plus have called for the devolution of policing powers to the City and the Western Cape province.
“The Constitution is very clear where the policing powers lie,” Thuynsma said.
He said Cape Town residents deserved equitable access to affordable municipal services.