Drakenstein Municipality has reaffirmed its reputation as one of South Africa’s best-run municipalities, winning Gold in the Best Municipality category at the 2025 Western Cape Government Service Excellence Awards. The ceremony took place on Friday, 12 September at GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World in Cape Town.
The award places Drakenstein ahead of Swartland (Silver) and Mossel Bay (Bronze), cementing its position as the Western Cape’s leading secondary city. This recognition builds on a series of achievements, including being rated South Africa’s number one secondary city for good governance in 2024 by Good Governance Africa.
Drakenstein has also earned 17 consecutive unqualified audit opinions since 2011, with 10 of those being clean audits—a testament to its financial discipline, governance, and accountability.
Executive Mayor Councillor Stephen Korabie praised the dedication of municipal staff, partners, and the broader community, noting: “This recognition is a testament to the dedication of our municipal teams, our industry partners and, importantly, the residents and business sector of Drakenstein.”
City Manager Dr Johan Leibbrandt highlighted the collaborative approach that drives the municipality’s success, from frontline service delivery to long-term strategic planning.
Home to over 311,000 residents across Paarl, Wellington, and surrounding towns, Drakenstein is also the largest economy in the Cape Winelands. Known as Southern Africa’s first self-declared Fair Trade City, it has consistently been recognised for its sustainability efforts, resilience, and growth potential.
With this latest accolade, Drakenstein Municipality continues to set the standard for service excellence and inclusive development in South Africa.
Picture:
(Back from the left) Gerrit Dippenaar (Chief Officer: Risk Management); Pearl Barends (Office of the City Manager); Louis Pienaar (Executive Director: Engineering Services); Rozan Jaftha (Chief Audit Executive); Ian Engelmohr (Financial Planning and Accounting Analyst); Melany Brown (Senior Executive Officer: City Manager); Seraj Johaar (Executive Director: Corporate and Planning Services)
(Front from the left) Cindy September (Manager: Integrated Development Plan, Research and Development); Alderman Gert Combrink (Deputy Executive Mayor); Councillor Stephen Korabie (Executive Mayor); Dr Johan Leibbrandt (City Manager); Bradley Brown (Chief Financial Officer); Riana Geldenhuys (Manager: Communication and Marketing)