West Coast District Municipality
- West Coast District Municipality
- Year : May 2021
Summary
WCDM has a fairly small population with socio-economic indicators broadly in line with national averages. Positively, economic activity is diverse and includes manufacturing, agricultural and tourism industries, which continue to support the District’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth above the national average. This is reflected in a relatively low unemployment rate of 11%, against the 27% national average. The District continues to seek ways to strengthen economic diversification and growth, albeit that meaningful improvement will only be achieved in the longer term, whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has added some setbacks.
Additional Information
WCDM’s strong financial profile contributes favourably to the ratings. The District maintains a conservative financial policy, with debt having amortised steadily over the review period to a low R13m at FY20 (FY19: R27m). The District anticipates raising a small amount of additional debt to fund a landfill project, but it plans to recover this loan from the three participating municipalities. This is not expected to meaningfully impact the strong net ungeared position.
