{"id":845516,"date":"2025-12-06T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=845516"},"modified":"2025-12-05T13:16:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T11:16:15","slug":"the-best-run-municipality-in-south-africas-best-run-province","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/845516\/the-best-run-municipality-in-south-africas-best-run-province\/","title":{"rendered":"The best-run municipality in South Africa’s best-run province"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Drakenstein Municipality has been recognised as the best municipality in the Western Cape after securing its 11th clean audit for the 2024\/2025 financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Auditor-General of South Africa once again affirmed that the municipality\u2019s financial management, governance, and service delivery processes are operating at the highest standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This latest audit marked Drakenstein\u2019s seventh consecutive clean audit and its 18th unqualified audit opinion since 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Western Cape province has remained the outlier in a country where municipal failure has become the norm, and Drakenstein has emerged as the standout performer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its latest clean audit contributed to the municipality being named the best in the province at the 2025 Western Cape Government\u2019s Service Excellence Awards, where it received the Gold Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swartland took Silver, and Mossel Bay received Bronze. Drakenstein was recognised as a leader in governance, innovation, and service delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drakenstein\u2019s Executive Mayor, Councillor Stephen Korabie, said the clean audit represents far more than compliance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAchieving our 11th clean audit is a powerful statement about Drakenstein Municipality\u2019s unwavering commitment to integrity, accountability and excellence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis milestone is not just a number. It reflects the hard work, resilience, and dedication of an exceptional team that kept its focus in the face of many challenges. I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Located an hour from Cape Town, Drakenstein is the largest economy in the Cape Winelands and home to more than 311,000 residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its jurisdiction includes the historic towns of Paarl and Wellington, making it a key regional hub and an important contributor to the Western Cape\u2019s overall economic performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Auditor-General\u2019s clean audit confirmed that Drakenstein\u2019s systems exceed the standards expected of local governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A clean audit requires both sound financial reporting and effective internal controls. In Drakenstein\u2019s case, the Auditor-General also assessed operational processes designed to ensure reliable service delivery\u2014and found them functioning well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most successful years in history <\/h2>\n\n\n
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Drakenstein Municipality<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The municipality noted that a major part of its success lies in its Internal Audit Division, which ensures that feedback from the Auditor-General is turned into tangible improvements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drakenstein is also the first municipality in South Africa to convert its Municipal Audit Action Plan into Departmental Audit Action Plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City Manager Dr Johan Leibbrandt said this has been crucial in driving accountability across the organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese DAAPs provide clear, department-specific directives, creating a structured roadmap for continuous improvement and accountability across the Municipality,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leibbrandt stressed that the internal audit team also plays an essential role in maintaining high standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur internal auditors, under the leadership of our Chief Audit Executive, Rozan Jaftha, are our first line of defence. We have a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluating and improving our business processes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The municipality\u2019s audit outcome caps what officials describe as one of the most successful years in Drakenstein\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past year, it has collected several major awards that reflect its commitment to sustainability, innovation, and world-class service delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2025, Drakenstein won the Schneider Electric Sustainability Impact Award for the Anglophone Africa region for its progress in decarbonisation and environmental management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two months later, in August, it received the Municipal Innovation Recognition Award for its Indigent Management System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This system is a technology-driven approach to identifying and supporting vulnerable households more efficiently and compassionately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the same event, it was also recognised for its readiness for digital transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By September 2025, Drakenstein Municipality was named the Best Municipality at the Western Cape Government\u2019s Service Excellence Awards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The municipality has been recognised as the best municipality in the Western Cape after 11 consecutive clean audits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":845551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[24323,853,3024],"class_list":["post-845516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-drakenstein-local-municipality","tag-south-africa","tag-western-cape"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845516"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":845658,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845516\/revisions\/845658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}