Cape Town tops Financial Sustainability Index

9 April 2024

The index also scores Cape Town’s Infrastructure development rating at a five-year high (67), with the metro further showing the highest infrastructure repairs and maintenance spend of all cities, at 7% of revenue.

Mayor Hill-Lewis recently announced that Cape Town’s R120bn in planned infrastructure investments over ten years will far surpass other cities, as the metro prepares to overtake Johannesburg as South Africa’s most populous. The City estimates it will directly create 130 000 jobs from the record R39,7bn infrastructure investment proposed over the next three years, with 75% of infrastructure spending set to directly benefit lower income households in 24/25.

‘Good governance is the reason why Cape Town added 363 000 new jobs over the current local government term, and why we are able to invest far more in infrastructure than any other city, with lower income households set to directly benefit from 75% of this spend – or around R9bn – in 2024/25.

‘Exciting things are happening in our local economy, people are starting businesses, many are moving their lives and work here, and there is growing hope for what is truly possible in our country. This would not be the case without good financial management behind-the-scenes, and a determination to protect pro-poor spending and infrastructure investment, even in a weak national economy,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

Cape Town is followed in the latest MFSI index 2023 by Nelson Mandela Bay (rated at 56, a total of 14 index points behind Cape Town), eThekwini (49) and Buffalo City (47).

This latest Ratings Afrika data follows Cape Town’s ranking first among South Africa’s metros in Good Governance Africa’s recently published Governance Performance Index (GPI) 2024, which ranks SA’s cities, local and district municipalities across five good governance indicators.

The metro further ranked first for Economic Development in the GPI index. This is based on recent StatsSA data showing that Cape Town continues to maintain SA’s lowest broad unemployment rate, adding 363 000 new jobs since the start of the current local government term of office in November 2021, according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Q4 2023.

Issued by Media Office, City of Cape Town, 9 April 2024