Why Gauteng's infrastructure woes are driving residents to Cape Town

Amid roads that are a patchwork of potholes, burst water pipes, water outages that last for days, and traffic lights that have been out for years, if not months, Gauteng residents are fleeing to the Mother City. 

This despite reports of semigrants rethinking their move to the Mother City.

Wise Move, a tech-enabled platform that helps people relocate, has found that the volume of people from Gauteng who are moving to the Western Cape exceeds that of those moving to any other province. 

According to the tech start-up’s inaugural 2025 Migration Report, Gauteng had the largest net loss of residents (-20.1%) for 2024. In contrast, the Western Cape emerged as the biggest winner in inter-provincial migration. 

With 32.4% of all inter-provincial moves headed to the Cape, it has also retained its talent – contributing only 15.1% to out-migration to a different province the report, based on proprietary data from over 15 000 moves completed during 2024 via the Wise Move platform, found.

It also noted that, unsurprisingly, there is a constant flow of people between Gauteng and the Western Cape.

In total, people moving from Johannesburg and Pretoria to the Western Cape accounted for a combined 48% of all inter-provincial moves.

“The data reveals a strong pull toward urban hubs, with the City of Cape Town leading the way.” 

Chante Venter, co-founder and CEO, said the steady stream of families and professionals relocating from Gauteng to the Western Cape often comes down to lifestyle, with 71% of people moving went to the Mother City, the report found. 

“Yes, infrastructure challenges like potholes, water issues, and unreliable traffic lights play a role but more than that, people are looking for better schools, better lifestyles and a more relaxed pace of life. The Western Cape, particularly Cape Town, offers a mix of natural beauty, work-from-anywhere opportunities, and a sense of stability that’s hard to ignore,” she said.

Anecdotal evidence and media reports indicate that potholes in Gauteng seemingly multiply overnight with aging infrastructure and heavy rains being large contributors. Burst water pipes are a common occurrence, and many intersections – such as the massive one at the juncture of the N1 and Winnie Mandela Drive – are without traffic lights for weeks on end. 

In 2022, William Gumede, Associate Professor at the School of Governance at the University of the Witwatersrand, and author of Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times, warned that South Africa’s “entire infrastructure is on the verge of total collapse”.

The seemingly mass migration from Gauteng to the DA-managed Western Cape – which the DA touts as a public relations case study – comes ahead of Municipal Elections, slated to be held between November 2, 2026, and February 1, 2027.

Wise Move also found that some people are relocating from Cape Town back to Gauteng’s key hubs and many to Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, although these routes are at a lower level than those moving to the Western Cape – only accounting for 25% of out-migration in that province. 

Some 48.6% of all moves occurred between metro areas, underlining South Africa’s continued urbanisation, Wise Move’s report found. 

The report noted that three-bedroom houses were among the most moved-into properties, particularly in Gauteng and Western Cape metros. In addition, moving costs increased by up to 99% for large homes when distance was factored in, a significant expense driver.

Cape Argus