EASTERN CAPE NEWS - The Democratic Alliance-governed Kouga Local Municipality has once again been recognised as one of the best municipalities in the country, achieving 82.5 out of 100 in the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Local Government Report Card 2026.
This places it sixth overall among the 50 municipalities assessed and the highest-ranked in the Eastern Cape.
The FW de Klerk Foundation Report Card is an independent study and evaluated all eight of South Africa’s metropolitan municipalities and a sample of 42 local municipalities across five pillars.
These pillars are services and infrastructure, financial management, governance, integrity and constitutional inclusion.
Kouga was commended for its:
- Strong electricity supply, refuse collection, roads and water access.
- Second consecutive clean audit, funded budgets, good collection rate (Kouga ended the 2025/26 financial year on 94%) and disciplined creditor payments.
- Stable senior leadership and functional oversight structures that convert plans into results.
- Credible controls and audit remediation.
- Free basic services and rural outreach.
Last year Kouga was also honoured at the 2025 Municipal Performance Awards for its excellence in financial management, stability and service delivery.
The DA has been in power in Kouga since 2016, after Ratings Africa in 2011 rated Kouga, then still governed by the ANC, as the worst performing municipality in the Eastern Cape.
Dr Vicky Knoetze MPL, DA Kouga Constituency Leader says Kouga's rise to the best in the province is a direct reflection of the consistent leadership under Mayor Hattingh Bornman and the DA-led council.
"It proves that when stability, planning and accountability come together, communities thrive," she says.
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