Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has been named by Ratings Afrika as the South African metro with the best financial management, the City said on Wednesday.
“Cape Town scored 75 – the highest out of all metros, with Johannesburg scoring 37, Ekurhuleni at 70, Tshwane with 24, Nelson Mandela Bay at 58, eThekwini scoring 50 and Buffalo City at 73,” said Mayor Patricia de Lille.
The score is based on the City’s 2014/2015 financial statement, analysed by Ratings Afrika which, according to their website, is “a ratings agency that specialises in ratings and similar opinions gauging the soundness of governance” in companies, state-owned enterprises, municipalities, provinces, and central governments.
The agency measured the country’s the eight metros’ operating performance, liabilities management, budget practices, and liquidity position resulting in the annual Municipal Financial Stability Index (MFSI).
Of the results, half of those measured were found to have weak financial stability while the two metros with the highest household income – Johannesburg and Tshwane – received the lowest scores.
“The agency stated that decisive political leadership is needed to correct the bad state of municipal finances and these leaders need to look at the interests of their residents and businesses rather than their own, root out corruption and appoint competent managers with the necessary skills to implement budgetary processes and exercise financial discipline,” said De Lille.
Cape Town’s score of 75 is an improvement from 2014, when the Democratic Alliance-controlled city scored 61. Showing an improvement from 2014 was Ekurhuleni’s by three points while every other metro has shown a decrease.
“Ratings Afrika said that the best performing municipalities like Cape Town have well-entrenched financial policies and budgets based on sound long-term financial strategies while adhering to good budgetary practices, strict financial control, and good revenue collection,” said De Lille.
She added that despite the accolade, the City would “not rest on [their] laurels”.
“We will accelerate service delivery to the poorest households and maintain the highest level of cross-subsidisation to the poor, while managing our finances carefully and responsibly,” said De Lille.
“We will continue our work of making this great city even greater.”
African News Agency