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The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes a report by international rating agency Global Credit Rating (GCR) which awarded the DA managed City of Cape Town one of the highest possible long term debt ratings of AA-. This was the highest credit rating that was achieved in the municipalities reviewed by GCR; two of the 11 other municipalities rated by GCR also received it, while the other nine were assessed less favourably.

This places the City of Cape Town ahead of Buffalo City, the City of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay and a host of other ANC run metros -- testament yet again to the DA's strong track record in government and the City's excellent financial planning capabilities, and further proof that the DA is now both a party of government and the only other meaningful alternative to the ANC, an alternative defined by excellence and service delivery.

According to GCR's ratings system, an AA- rating means that the City of Cape Town boasts a "very high credit rating" and that its "protection factors are very strong." It compares favourably, for instance, with the A scored by the City of Johannesburg (which means that "risk factors are variable and greater in periods of economic stress") and the BBB+ scored by the City of Tshwane, where there is deemed to be "considerable variability in risk during economic cycles". BBB, in fact, basically amounts to junk bond status.

The DA governed City of Cape Town maintained its AA- rating from the previous year because of its good cash flows, its continuous debt collection drive and its tight management over expenditure. While other metros are struggling to meet debts to Eskom and the Rand Water Board, the City of Cape Town is fully paid up due to its prudent financial planning.

A favourable credit rating says a great deal about the ability of Cape Town to deliver public services - a better credit rating means that the municipality has to pay less interest on loans, which means that less money needs to be loaned in order to deliver public services. This in turn means that a larger portion of the municipal payments made by citizens of Cape Town is going into service delivery than most other places in the country. The fact that Cape Town has been able to achieve such a favourable rating amidst a general economic downturn is a particularly fine achievement, especially since difficulties in debt management are leading to credit downgrades among several industrialised nations - such as the PIIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain).

The DA's track record speaks for itself. Not only do DA administrations achieve strong credit ratings from market assessors, but by the government's own admission the DA remains a top performer in local government. For instance, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs' report in 2009 entitled ‘State of Local Government in South Africa' showed that five out of six municipalities run outright by the DA are ranked in the top tier of municipalities countrywide, while another seven that the DA co-govern also appear in this top tier.

The Cooperative Governance Department's report, together with this latest report by the GCR, shows that the DA delivers to the highest standard. It is clear the DA produces results when it is elected into power. Every voter now has a responsibility to hold the government to account for its failings and this can be done through voting for the DA in the 2011 local government elections!