Chairperson, hon Kganare, there are multifaceted reasons at times for municipalities not being able to spend, amongst them the availability of skills. People must be able to do the job and do it properly and be able to plan and ensure that they execute what they have to execute.
Therefore, what we want to do, of course, in collaboration with National Treasury, is to say that if municipalities don't spend, national government must go and assist; provinces must be able to go and assist in ensuring that the money is spent; and service delivery happens, because you find that more often than not these people who can't spent are in poor areas.
In municipalities that don't have the capacity to do the work, you can't punish the citizen, because of the fact that there is no capacity in municipalities. We must be able to assist in that respect. We are looking at different models of ensuring that the capacity in those smaller municipalities is there and is able to be taken up going forward.
On the issue of collection of debts, what belongs to municipalities must be able to be paid to them. The ability to spend is not an issue, irrespective of the side. The issue is that what belongs to municipalities must be able to be paid and that is what we are going to be doing, and that's what we are going to be following without fear, without favour and without prejudice. Thank you. [Applause.]
Visits to areas in which service-delivery protests have taken place
218. Mrs M Wenger (DA) asked the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs:
(1) Whether he has visited the areas across the country, particularly in Mpumalanga, where protests related to service delivery have taken place; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether he has consulted the residents about their issues; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the exact issues of the residents and (b) how will these issues be addressed?