Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism

With regard to the Competition Commission’s Cost of Living Report (August 2025):

1. Whether his Department has engaged with the findings of the Competition Commis-sion’s Cost of Living Report (August 2025) regarding the disproportionate impact of rising food, transport, housing and utility costs on low-income households in Cape Town; if so, what measures are being implemented to provide relief to vulnerable residents in the province;
2. in the light of evidence of “price stickiness” of staple foods (such as bread, maize meal, chicken, eggs and sunflower oil) where producer cost reductions are not passed on to consumers, what steps is his Department taking to address anti-competitive behaviour in food retail markets, particularly in urban centres such as Cape Town;
3. given that electricity tariffs have increased by 68% and water by 50% over the past five years, with Cape Town residents facing compounded municipal tariff hikes, what interventions are being considered by his Department to curb the burden of administered prices on households, especially on households in informal settlements and low-income communities?