Thank you very much, hon Watson. Of course, we have short-term measures. One of the short-term measures is the fact that we are intervening decisively in areas where we hear about this. I will tell you that we received a report where in one province, that I am not going to mention, the municipal manager was about to be suspended last week. This was because she refused to implement a legal instruction. This was done by a junior official who is a senior member of the party. We dispatched a team, led by the Deputy Minister and other officials, to go to that place. They reversed the situation, and everything is going well. We want to be a responsive government. We must act if we hear anything; we must be there on the ground and deal with the situation. To illustrate that, hon Watty, the department is going to be divided into provinces. This is because we believe that one cannot run 283 municipalities - working with all nine of the provinces - while being in Tshwane. We don't know what is happening on the ground. We must therefore ensure that we are at the provincial level.
I am saying that we are intervening. If you hear anything, you have the right to communicate with us. My cellphone number has not changed; it remains the same. We will be there on the ground, dealing with the issues. We don't want to allow a situation where the power, prestige and authority of a municipality is undermined. If we allow this to happen, we will regret what we have done over time. We must stop the rot before it gets worse. Thank you very much.
Action taken against municipal managers who have failed to comply with performance agreements
53. Mr D A Worth (DA) asked the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs:
Whether any action has been taken against any municipal managers who have failed to comply with their performance agreements; if not, why not; if so, how many municipal managers have been dismissed and/or suspended in the (a) 2008-09 financial year and (b) from 1 April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available?