No, I won't. I don't have any time to take a question, thank you. This is trying to waste my time.
These devices help residents to manage their consumption and their costs and to save water. The portfolio committee found no evidence of deliberate water cuts and the City's report showed that it offers more free water than any other city in South Africa. It also found that eThekwini, Tshwane and other ANC-run municipalities have also installed these water management devices, and the ANC-run Metro City of Johannesburg has spent the past few years in court, defending its plan to install prepaid water meters. These are prepaid meters, which ours are not.
So why is the Minister picking on the Western Cape? And why is he picking on Cape Town and saying nothing about the others? This exposes the ANC's agenda once again - to abuse the state for party-political purposes, which is unconstitutional.
We will not hesitate to begin intergovernmental relations procedures, and take this matter to the Constitutional Court, if necessary. We did so before, over the Erasmus commission, and we won, and we will do so again.
On a more positive note, this week we will be submitting a schedule to the President of national laws that are creating unnecessary red tape for provincial and local government, following an invitation that the hon President gave to me on 13 August this year.
We have done this in the interests of streamlining service delivery across the three spheres of government and have included a schedule on red tape affecting municipalities, drawn up after consultation with all 30 municipalities in this province.
The list of laws affecting provincial government is based on inputs from each of our provincial departments, and there are over 75 suggested amendments in total. These include calls for national planning legislation to be simplified so as to avoid excessive delays with crucial infrastructure projects like housing and basic services, especially electricity and roads. In some cases, up to four different laws require four different public participation processes for one project, creating huge delays to delivery, and we will submit this to you, Mr President.
We are also calling for legislation to give greater clarity on the respective roles and responsibilities of national, provincial and local government spheres, as set out in Schedules 4 and 5 of the Constitution. The current situation leaves uncertainty, which affects funding allocations and implementation, and often leaves local or provincial governments with unfunded mandates, which none of us want.
This is particularly important in respect of the new transportation legislation that is being phased in at the national level. We have also raised the question of rights and responsibilities regarding ports controlled by Transnet, but which are not always run in a manner that benefits regional economies and communities.
We have also put forward a range of other proposals to close loopholes that allow for corruption and maladministration. There are many others and I would be happy to share the full submission with my fellow premiers, also for their added input. I think we can really benefit from co-operative governance, if we remove all the red tape and get on with service delivery.
I would like to thank the President for agreeing to follow up on these critically important submissions at our recent meeting. This has the potential to fine-tune the legislative framework in which we operate and improve intergovernmental co-operation and outcomes, and not play games with these concepts. It is one of the best ways we can work towards a better quality of life for all our people. Thank you very much.