Deputy Speaker, yes, we do have the mechanisms and instruments regarding what has been raised in terms of the municipal infrastructure grant, the MIG.
The other question is about how we measure the impact. There are two things that we look at. One, we go to the people on the ground and check whether - as intended beneficiaries - they see a difference, and whether the quality of their lives has been improving. That's the first thing that we do. The second thing is to look at whether the backlogs that are there, in terms of infrastructure development, are being dealt with and addressed. Those are the two things that we look at.
The second question raises an issue around how much money was not spent on the MIG. As of June 2010, R926 million was not spent. Now, the question that is being raised is: What interventions are we undertaking as a department? The first intervention is to give support to municipalities. The second intervention is to ensure that we deploy experts to assist where there is a shortage of skills, particularly of engineers. However, what we find a challenge is the lack of forward planning. People don't plan projects on time so that when the money comes - the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework is for three years - the projects aren't ready. People don't do that. Therefore we are dealing with that issue; we are addressing it.
However, we believe that we are supposed to look at the long-term solutions. Something we are coming up with is a special purpose vehicle: a centralised structure at the national level that is going to ensure that whether you are in Messina or Johannesburg, you can get the same services at the basic level. We will be able to assist struggling municipalities that are not able to do that.
We believe that in the coming years the issue of the unspent MIG will be something of the past. But we are going beyond that. We are saying that the grants that are given to municipalities in South Africa are too many, unco- ordinated and disorganised. Therefore we will be co-ordinating the grants in the way they are supposed to be done to ensure that there is a single window where things will be undertaken. That is what we are doing as a way of addressing this issue. Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker.