Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to announce wide-ranging incentives for households to invest in energy security, and a national subsidy for local governments to ramp up solar PV installations. The City is also hoping to see a medium-term budget commitment to fast-tracking the devolution of Cape Town’s collapsed passenger rail system for the City to run.
‘We believe it is particularly urgent to incentivise energy generation by households and businesses. Cape Town will now pay cash for power directly from businesses and residents. We need national government’s support for households and businesses to rapidly scale up solar power generation. We are hoping to see significant tax rebate incentives to install solar while staying on the grid to sell power for cash. In this way, more and more people can help us end load-shedding over time.
‘A national solar PV subsidy for local and provincial authorities would further enable the rapid installation of small-scale embedded generation at public buildings, schools, hospitals and housing rental stock. This would enable more publicly-owned facilities to contribute to energy security, and to become more sustainable by selling power for cash,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
Mayor Hill-Lewis said the City was keen to get its trains running again should national government devolve passenger rail to the City of Cape Town.
‘We are hoping to see a medium-term budget commitment to fast-tracking the devolution of passenger rail to cities so that we can get Cape Town’s once-strong train service running again together with the private sector. Cape Town’s Rail Feasibility Study is already laying the foundation to run passenger rail in the best interests of commuters who desperately need affordable, safe, and reliable public transport daily. But recent statements by the ANC, and the delay in national government’s Devolution Strategy with no definite deadline, are critical points of concern,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
The City is further engaging Treasury on red-tape-cutting reforms to the Municipal Finance Management Act and preferential procurement frameworks.
‘We have submitted a list of red tape provisions in the MFMA and related legislation which make it that much harder for local governments to deliver critical basic services and infrastructure for residents. We are hoping to hear commitment to reforming public finance law in the best interests of citizens while still ensuring the checks and balances needed for good governance,’ said the Mayor.
