4. Clause 5 will also insert new subsections in section 36 of the Act. The additions propose that in instances where the licensing authority fails to take a decision within the time period set out in the Act, an applicant may request the MEC or Minister, as the case may be, to take the decision, and in the event that the MEC does not have the capacity or the MEC does not deal with the matter within the reasonable period of time, the Minister may be requested to take the decision. When considering this subsection the Portfolio Committee was mindful of sections 125(2)(b) (Executive authority of provinces) and 156(1)(b) (powers and functions of municipalities) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996, which provides that the Province or the Municipality, respectively, is vested with the power to implement all national legislation within the functional areas listed in Schedule 4 of the Constitution, except where the Constitution or an Act of Parliament provides otherwise.