WESTERN CAPE NEWS - Research done by News24 and published this week as the Out of Order index, has found that 14 out of the top twenty rated municipalities in the country, are in the Western Cape.
This includes the five best municipalities in the country, led by Cape Agulhas municipality and Overstrand Municipality.
Anton Bredell, Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape has welcomed the report and congratulated municipalities in the province for their performance.
“We note that the report was based on multiple independent data sets. Our municipalities in the Western Cape are not perfect and they are constantly looking for ways to improve, I am the first to acknowledge this. But what this shows is that we are getting many things right.”
The Out of Order index is described as “the first data journalism project of its sort in South Africa”.
The report suggests 43 municipalities in South Africa - over and above 87 previously red-flagged municipalities - are in the danger zone of collapse.
“I’m pleased to confirm that not one of these 43 are in the Western Cape,” says Bredell.
Nationally, the average index score is 45 out of 100 for all municipalities. In the Western Cape out of the 25 municipalities measured, 20 scored 50% and higher.
“We’re proud of these outcomes which is a testament to the hard work being done in our councils as we continue to try and improve people’s lives in the Western Cape.”
Bredell says this index which also looks at service delivery, comes in addition to the AGSA outcomes on good governance.
“Western Cape councils received 19 clean audits for year end 30 June 2020 from the Auditor General, which means 73% of the country's clean audit outcomes come from the Western Cape. This provides a simple reassurance to communities that the money their councils get, are being spent where it should be spent and not getting looted or misappropriated,” says Bredell.
The municipalities in the Western Cape that have received clean audits in the past year are: Stellenbosch, West Coast District, Mossel Bay, Cape Agulhas, Overstrand, Swellendam, Theewaterskloof, Cape Winelands, Breede Valley, Drakenstein, Langeberg, Witzenberg, Saldanha Bay, Swartland, Central Karoo, Bergrivier, Hessequa, Overberg and Prince Albert.
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