The Business Day’s new index that tracks how well cities and towns spend residents’ money, has ranked the City of Ekurhuleni top in the country.
Released in June, the index allocates each municipality a score out of 100 points based on the following indicators:
1. The 2014-15 audit outcome.
2. Whether it had a permanent or acting municipal manager and chief financial officer.
3. How strictly it managed its debtors; whether it under- or overspent its 2015-16 operational budget.
4. Whether it spent its conditional infrastructure grants that fiscal year.
The indicators were selected on the basis of expert interviews and the availability of data, Themba Gadebe, metro spokesperson said.
“Ekurhuleni tops the rankings among the eight metros, with 81.9 points, followed by eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality with 81.1 points.”
Executive mayor Clr Mzwandile Masina said, “This is evidence of our commitment towards fiscal prudence and honouring our mandate. The imperative of strong oversight is a constitutional obligation that perpetuates the separation of powers model.
“As a municipality that advocates this, it is of paramount importance that the culture of strong political oversight is enforced in all political parties. This reasserts our commitment to the social contract we have with the people of Ekurhuleni.”
