GEORGE NEWS - George Municipality has been rated the fourth most productive in the Western Cape in studies done by the data and intelligence company Municipal IQ.

This came to light at a ministerial mayors meeting on Monday in Worcester.

Municipal IQ could not reply in depth to enquiries by the George Herald, as the information is copyrighted and was presented in a closed meeting, with a request not to distribute the document included. Municipal IQ is funded by subscription fees from clients in the private and public sector. 

"We are independent and not affiliated to any political party", said Karen Heese, economist at Municipal IQ. "The information is privy to our clients."

Heese could disclose, however, that typically Western Cape municipalities excel on the MPI. 

"While other provinces experienced a deterioration in municipal productivity in our last set of results (released in November 2018), the Western Cape demonstrated stability. George scored fourth highest in the Western Cape, and in truth, should not be compared to Cape Town which is a single-tier structure of local government while George and other local municipalities are supported by district spending and capacity," she said.

Municipal Productivity Index

Municipal IQ rates municipalities using the unique Municipal Productivity Index (MPI), which was launched 13 years ago and is updated annually. The MPI measures the socio-economic context in which residents are able to operate in municipalities, and also considers the extent to which municipal capacity and spending reinforces productivity. It aims to assess the ability of individuals to function in a specific municipal context - reflecting on their ability to be productive (using basic municipal infrastructure, for instance), and to access economic activity, based on the size and structure of the local economy. It also considers municipal spending and performance.

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