Widespread municipal tariff increases are expected as the City of Ekurhuleni tables its new budget for the 2026/27 financial year.
The city has warned of increasing pressure on its ability to deliver services, driven by rising operational costs and significant revenue losses.
The City’s MMC for Finance, Jongizizwe Dlabathi, confirmed that property rates will increase by 2%, which is below the current inflation rate.
Electricity tariffs will rise in line with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA)-approved guideline of approximately 9%.
Sanitation tariffs are set to increase by 8.35%, while water tariffs will rise by 11%, down from earlier draft proposals of 14%.
Refuse removal tariffs will increase by 3.7% for both domestic and business users.
Commuters will also face higher bus fares from 1 July 2026. Dlabathi said rising input costs and fuel prices have placed further strain on the city’s transport services.
“Ideally, we could have proposed another zero increase on bus services as we did with the current budget; unfortunately, petrol prices surged by 15.2% and diesel by 35.4%, creating serious pressure on the bus service’s fuel costs.”