Hon Chair, hon Deputy President, the problem we found at the municipal level is that the government is giving money for infrastructure projects, but there is very little money going towards maintenance. For example, you can spend millions on low-cost housing projects, but there is no follow-up funding from the government to maintain municipalities. It then becomes a municipal responsibility, and that makes it very difficult.
If we can get the municipal infrastructure grant, as you have said - and for that we are very grateful - we can have a long-term funding model to support the government's initiatives regarding infrastructure building. It will make a huge difference because a municipality's income comes from the residents. That is the only source of money that they actually have. How can you maintain poor people's houses if they cannot pay rates and taxes? Due to poverty relief measures, many people are dependent on equitable shares and on grants from the municipalities to keep them alive.
So, I do not think that is really a question, it is just an opinion I am expressing. Maybe we must really look to support our municipalities more with maintenance money. Thank you, Mr Deputy President.