Thank you very much, House Chairperson. The question relates to the National Credit Act. I'd like to start by noting that the Act arose as a committee Bill from the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry. It introduces a range of measures to deal with overindebtedness of low-income consumers. There are a set of procedures and legal powers in the Act. It applies to a specified group of persons and specified categories of credit. It identifies what is meant by overindebtedness and it establishes a range of interventions, from debt rearrangement plans to changes in the debt repayment periods to debt extinguishing.
The Act was assented to by President Ramaphosa on 13 August this year and it will take effect upon proclamation once the implementation work has been completed. On 10 September this year I addressed the portfolio committee on the implementation plan. In addition, the department did a detailed presentation on