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Overview
Map
Transcript
Pre-agenda
Chamber conduct and security officers
Farewell tributes to Chief Whip
Councillor of the Year 2026 award
Question on electricity costs
End-of-term arrangements and recess
Question on houses at Pinelands depot
Question on inter-metro jobs comparison
Question on jobs breakdown
Question on population growth and megacity plans
Mayor's final-term address
Agenda
1. Confirmation of previous minutes
1. Adjustments budget 2026/27
2. SANRAL radio trunking contract
3. Invasive alien plants clearing
4. Auction of erven in Thornton
5. Street transfer Bordeaux Ave Constantia
6. Servitude over Erf 1034 Hout Bay
7. Public place transfer Simon's Town
8. Street transfer Auber Ave Mandalay
9. Closure of Erf 175151 Seawinds
10. Public place closure Elsies River
11. Engineering professional services contract
12. Independent power producer programme
13. IT service management solution
1. Council's system of delegations
2. Post-retirement medical aid realignment
3. ICLEI membership continuation
4. Street transfer Marston Rd Diep River
5. Street transfer Rushmore Way Tokai
6. Haven Night Shelter demolition Bellville
7. Long-distance bus terminus Stikland
8. Erf transfer Durbanville
9. Erf transfer Kraaifontein
10. Public passage transfer Gordon's Bay
11. Public place transfer Somerset West
12. Erf transfer Somerset Heights
13. Public place transfer Glencairn
14. Atlantis Thusong Centre donation
15. Street closure Kobodi St Philippi
16. City land use Claremont school
17. Voortrekker Road upgrade Maitland
18. Water reuse and desalination advisory
19. Loeries Creative Week support
20. Business support policy
21. Performance management policy
1. Municipal planning amendment by-law
1. Freight management strategy
2. Road safety strategy
3. Atlantis SEZ debt remission
4. City land use Goodwood Mall
5. Friends of the Library agreements
6. WCEDP grant budget virement
1. Remuneration policy
2. Human settlements professionals contract
3. One Young World Summit funding
4. Eskom water abstraction agreement
5. Traffic fine receivables virement
1. CCID city land lease
2. Cannons Creek school land lease Pinelands
1. Mixed use development Mitchells Plain
2. Mixed-income development Goodwood/Parow/Bellville
3. Vasco da Gama FC land lease Parow
1. Alderman/Alderwoman title conferment
2. Belhar Drive renaming
3. Eendrag Park renaming
4. Community Services committee report
5. Corporate Services committee report
6. Energy committee report
7. Finance committee report
8. Future Planning committee report
9. Human Settlements committee report
10. Innovation committee report
11. Safety and Security committee report
12. Spatial Planning committee report
13. Urban Mobility committee report
14. Urban Waste Management committee report
15. Water and Sanitation committee report
16. MPAC annual report
1. Question from Cllr Cottee
1. Future Planning Q4 progress report
2. SPVs and Wesgro annual report
3. Cape Town water outlook June 2026
4. Executive Mayor's resolutions
5. MPAC quarterly report
6. MPAC meeting minutes
7. Supply chain management report
8. SCM regulation 36 report

City of Cape Town Council

Meeting 20/08/2026

Notifications MCP

Subjects

00:00:00/ —

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BEFORE AGENDA, from 00:00:00
AGENDA, from 01:15:34

Urban Planning

Question on population growth and megacity plans

Pre-agendaAugust 20, 20262 speakers · 3 minutes

3′

minutes

Democratic Alliance2′

Cape Independence Party1′

Summary

AI-generated text

Mr. Miller (Cape Independence Party) raises concerns about Cape Town's rapid population growth and asks whether the DA plans to turn Cape Town into a 10-million megacity. The Mayor responds that urbanisation is a natural worldwide process and that successful cities grow fastest because opportunity drives movement. He argues that the idea of «aiming» for 10 million people misunderstands population dynamics and that Cape Town will reach that size over time whether or not the City plans for it, so the responsible choice is to prepare rather than deny it.

Cape Town is South Africa's second-largest city. The 2022 national census put its population at 4.8 million. The City's own Census 2022 analysis gives 4,772,846, which is 27.6% higher than in 2011 and a slowdown from the previous intercensal period. The earlier census counts were 2,562,444 in 1996, 2,892,243 in 2001 and 3,740,031 in 2011.

Official projections are well below 10 million. The City's draft long-term plan (the 2050 plan) expects the metro to grow more slowly than in past decades, adding 1.5 to 2.9 million people to its 2022 base of 4.8 million. That would put the 2050 population at roughly 6.3 to 7.7 million. An earlier City report estimated 5.8 million people by 2040. The draft plan says fertility is expected to hold steady or decline, so migration will be the main driver of growth. It also expects the population to age, with residents aged 65 and older rising from 6.2% in 2016 to 15% by 2050.

Population projections shape long-term spending on water, housing, transport, electricity and land use, including the Municipal Spatial Development Framework and the infrastructure budgets built on it. The City's research reports note that climate change, population growth and the need for developable land remain key pressures. Debate over how fast the city grows, and whether to plan for it, bears on service delivery, the cost of living and the city's long-term planning.

Statements(2)

AI-generated text

JM

Jack MillerIntroducerCape Independence Party

Cape Town is geographically constrained by oceans and mountains with a fixed limited amount of space. The population has surged from 3.7 million just 15 years ago to around 5 million today, with over 1 million people arriving from outside the province in the last decade, 67% from the Eastern Cape. The city already faces 20% unemployment — 30% on the Cape Flats, a housing backlog of over half a million, with 75% of taxes subsidising the indigent and unemployed, and overflowing sewer lines. Given these pressures, Mr. Miller asks whether it is true that the DA plans to take the current population of 5 million and increase it to 10 million, as reported on Carte Blanche by the deputy mayor.

GH

Geordin Hill-LewisExecutive Mayor · Democratic Alliance

Urbanisation is a natural process that every large city in history has gone through — the City does not actively recruit people to move to Cape Town. South Africa, like most African countries, is still going through this process, and successful cities grow the fastest because the number one driver of movement is opportunity. The notion of «aiming» for 10 million residents is a fundamental misunderstanding of how human population dynamics work; Cape Town will reach that size because cities grow. The responsible approach is to prepare and plan for that growth rather than bury one's head in the sand.

The discussion

3′

minutes

Democratic Alliance2′

Cape Independence Party1′

2 speakers · 2 parties

Introducer

JM

Miller Jack

Decision

Items raised before the agenda never have a decision.