The City Of Gold Has Lost Its Shine The City of Gold is losing its shine. Once the economic engine of South Africa and the financial capital of Africa, Johannesburg is...
Johannesburg Financial Sustainability 2025
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Articles by Leon Claassen
Articles by this author
2025 Municipal Performance Awards
Introducing the Municipal Performance Awards For the first time in South Africa’s history, the financial health of the nation’s municipalities has taken centre stage on...
2024 Municipal Financial Sustainability Index (MFSI®) Results
The financial sustainability of the SA municipal sector remains very weak with a few beacons of hope On 3 October 2025, Ratings Afrika published its annual Municipal...
Leon Claassen
Leon Claassen is the Managing Executive and Lead Analyst at Ratings Afrika responsible for municipal governance and sustainability evaluations. Leon has more than 30 years’ experience in credit analysis. Leon developed Ratings Afrika’s independent scoring model, the Municipal Financial Sustainability Index (MFSI®), that is a benchmark for municipal financial health, which has been published annually since 2011. Leon’s work experience prior to Ratings Afrika includes analyses of municipalities, financial institutions, banks, funds, corporates and structured finance, as well as project finance ratings. Other previous experience includes merchant banking and auditing.
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