What's up in Cape Town ? The Weekly | 23-29 March 2026

Cape Town International Jazz Festival, 27-28 March

Water Watch — dams cross below 50% for the first time this season

The chart tells the story that the numbers alone cannot. The 2025 line (purple) shows where the city was last year at this point: a comfortable 68% heading into autumn. The 2026 line (teal) sits nearly 20 points below, and the slope is steepening. If the current rate of decline continues without meaningful rain, the projected path (red dashed) reaches 40% by May. That is not crisis territory, but it is the zone where formal water restrictions become likely.

The demand side matters just as much. Consumption recently spiked above 1 billion litres per day during the heatwave, more than 80 million litres above the City's 975 MLD target. The practical question for Cape Town residents: can usage stay below target for long enough that the first winter rains in May or June arrive before the buffer runs out?

Events — 23-29 March

Weekend picks — 27-29 March

Rand, Rates & the SARB Decision

The practical read for Cape Town residents: mortgage and credit costs stay where they are. The rate-cutting cycle that began in late 2024 is now effectively paused. Before the Middle East conflict, markets expected further cuts; that outlook has been parked. The rand has weakened from recent four-month lows near R17.2 to around R17.0 today as geopolitical tension eased slightly. The SARB's message: sit tight, don't panic, but don't expect rate relief soon.

April Fuel Shock — the biggest single-month hike in years

Why it is this big, and why Cape Town should pay attention

Three forces are stacking on top of each other simultaneously. First, the oil price: Brent crude surged from below $60 earlier this year to above $100, and briefly touched $115, after the escalation of the Iran conflict disrupted supply expectations around the Strait of Hormuz. Second, the rand weakened from around R15.70 in late January to R17+ by mid-March, making every dollar of that oil increase more expensive in local terms. Third, fuel taxes announced in the February Budget — adjustments to the general fuel levy, carbon levy and Road Accident Fund levy totalling 21 cents per litre — land on the same day.

The downstream effects are what matter most for daily life in Cape Town. Diesel drives the freight and taxi networks: a R8-9 per litre diesel increase does not stay at the pump. It flows into food prices, taxi fares, delivery costs and municipal service charges. COSATU has called the situation a "national disaster" and the DA has proposed a temporary 50% fuel levy cut. The government has signalled limited fiscal space for intervention. Eskom's new 8.76% electricity tariff hike also takes effect on 1 April, creating what some analysts are calling a "triple shock" to household budgets.

If oil prices and the exchange rate stabilise at current levels through April, a further R3 per litre increase in May is considered likely. Petrol could approach R29 per litre by mid-year in a worst-case scenario. For a city where roughly 70% of commuters do not use private cars, the taxi-fare and food-price transmission channels are where this hike will be felt hardest.

Weather — autumn settles in

After the extreme heat of early-to-mid March (including the 40C+ readings that drove water usage above target), this week feels unmistakably different. Temperatures stay in the low-to-mid 20s, evenings are cooler, and the heatwave pressure on the dam system eases. Wednesday could bring a light rain chance, but the Jazz Fest weekend looks dry and comfortable. This is the city transitioning from late summer into early autumn.

Safety & Power

Load shedding: over 300 days without interruption

Emergency Contacts

Looking Ahead (30 Mar - 5 Apr)