Free services for City's poor

THE City of Cape Town has trumpeted their new social assistance package as the widest free basic services deal in the land.

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Drawn up in their nuwe 2025-26 draft budget, pensioners and financially-challenged mense will get a comprehensive range of benefits for water, electricity and rates.

According to the City, of South Africa's metros, the Cape metropole has tabled the most inclusive package for indigent relief and rates rebates based on an analysis of each metro.

This is in line with Statistics SA’s new non-financial census of municipalities, published in March 2025, which finds that Cape Town has the widest free basic services reach.