The best-run municipality in the Eastern Cape

The Kouga Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape was recently named the best in the province after being awarded the Municipal Service Award at the Ratings Afrika Municipal Performance Awards.

This was based on Ratings Afrika’s Municipal Financial Sustainability Index for the 2023/24 financial year, which measures the financial health, stability, and sustainability of South Africa’s 115 largest municipalities.

The municipality is situated in the southern region of the province and falls within the Sarah Baartman District Municipality constituency.

Local municipalities are responsible for delivering direct services to communities, while district municipalities tend to handle cross-municipal functions such as infrastructure provision.

Major towns in the area include Jeffreys Bay, where the municipal council is located, as well as St Francis Bay, Oyster Bay, Humansdorp, KwaNomzamo, and Patensie.

Many of these are well-established tourist destinations, with Jeffreys Bay being globally renowned for its surfing.

According to the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), the municipality has just over 107,000 residents and 42,264 households.

Of these households, 88% have piped water, 96.9% have electricity for lighting, and 85% have flush toilets.

The AGSA gave a clean audit opinion for the 2023/24 financial year, which was an improvement from the previous four years when it received unqualified opinions with findings.

In addition to achieving a clean audit for the first time, it also managed to reduce its cumulative non-compliant expenditure to R0.

In 2022/23, unauthorised expenditure — money spent without approval or that exceeded the budget allocation — totalled R92.83 million, while fruitless and wasteful expenditure — funds spent unnecessarily or ineffectively — amounted to R111,999.

The closing balance of irregular expenditure, which refers to money spent in violation of laws, regulations, or procurement procedures, was R382,748.

Regarding the political composition of the municipality, the Democratic Alliance holds a majority of the 30-seat council with 16 seats.

The African National Congress also has a strong presence in the council with 11 seats, while the Economic Freedom Fighters, Patriotic Alliance, and Freedom Front Plus each have one.

Reliable and effective service delivery

Kouga Executive Mayor Hattingh Bornman told Newsday that at the heart of the municipality’s success is its unwavering focus on reliable and effective service delivery.

“The municipality has consistently demonstrated its ability to implement major infrastructure projects that directly address community needs — from upgrading roads and electricity networks to enhancing access to water, sanitation, and housing,” he said.

Bornman pointed to the municipality’s R200 million Road Resealing Project, which aims to upgrade between 100km and 150km of roads across all nine municipal areas.

Additionally, he noted that the municipality is also transforming rural and township roads into tarred surfaces in areas such as Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, and Hankey, utilising the Municipal Infrastructure Grant.

Speaking to the municipality’s clean audit opinion, Bornman said that “the accomplishment is the result of the dedication and professionalism of the municipality’s leadership and staff.”

“This includes the Municipal Manager and Chief Financial Officer, whose oversight and management ensured strict adherence to governance and financial management standards.”

He explained that in the past, a clean audit did not take into account the service delivery aspect. However, the AGSA now has indicators for value for money of the funds spent by local governments.

Apart from this, Bornman said that beyond this there are non-financial factors that are crucial to good governance.

“For Kouga, these include customer care initiatives where staff are trained and focused on the experience of our residents when they deal with the municipality,” he said.

“Creating a staff culture that ensures a positive work ethic and leads to service excellence. Implementing policies and by-laws that create opportunities for development, frameworks for quality service delivery, and an environment for growth.”

Joe Gqabi District Municipality

The Joe Gqabi District Municipality, located in the northeast of the province, deserves an honourable mention, given that it has achieved a clean audit for the past four consecutive years.

This makes it one of only 25 (less than 10%) South African municipalities to have achieved this following the 2023/24 financial year.

The district, which comprises the Elundini, Senqu, and Walter Sisulu local municipalities, is home to over 359,000 people as of 2022.

Major towns include Aliwal North, Burgersdorp, and Jamestown.

As of 2024, it managed to reduce its cumulative unauthorised expenditure to R164,753 from R24.18 million, and its fruitless and wasteful expenditure to R625,130 from R639,488.