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ActionSA strongly condemns the City of Cape Town's decision to commit municipal funds towards the repatriation of undocumented migrants, just days after imposing a 48% increase in MyCiTi bus fares on residents already under severe cost-of-living pressure.

The City has justified these steep fare increases by citing rising diesel costs and insufficient funding support from national government. Yet, in a clear contradiction of priorities, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has indicated that the City is prepared to fund the transportation of undocumented migrants – a function that falls squarely within the mandate and financial responsibility of national government.

ActionSA supports the enforcement of immigration laws and the repatriation of undocumented migrants. However, we reject the expectation that Cape Town ratepayers should subsidise the transportation of undocumented migrants while being told there is no fiscal space to protect them from punitive transport fare increases.

At the core of ActionSA’s approach is affordability. Public transport is a lifeline for workers, students, and families and a 48% fare increase is a direct blow to household incomes and economic participation.

The City cannot justify fare increases on the basis of financial constraints while simultaneously funding functions outside its municipal mandate. This contradiction is stark, particularly given its longstanding stance that policing and crime prevention fall under SAPS and are therefore a national responsibility. This raises serious questions about spending priorities and the credibility of claims that there is no alternative to burdening residents. 

Under ActionSA’s “Let’s Make Cape Town Affordable Again” plan, we will take a fundamentally different approach. We will overhaul the MyCiTi funding model to prevent fare hikes caused by fuel shocks and national funding gaps.

We will expand MyCiTi into underserved communities still excluded from reliable transport, and we will reprioritise municipal spending to focus on core local government responsibilities rather than national functions.

These reforms form the foundation of a phased pathway towards fare-free weekday travel on MyCiTi.

If the City argues it has fiscal capacity to assume national government responsibilities, then residents are entitled to ask why those same resources are not directed towards reducing transport costs, improving safety, expanding anti-drug interventions, and providing real relief to households under financial strain

ActionSA supports the repatriation of undocumented migrants and stronger border enforcement. However, these responsibilities must be funded and executed by national government through the Department of Home Affairs, not by municipal ratepayers already stretched to breaking point.

Cape Town residents deserve a government that puts affordability first, protects household budgets, and makes every rand work for its own people

Press Statement by: Dereleen James MP ActionSA Cape Town Mayoral Candidate