Madam Speaker, to respond to the question from hon Steenhuisen, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta, has reported that following the findings of the Auditor- General in the consolidated general Report on the Local Government Audit Outcomes for the 2017-18 financial year, the Auditor-General identified 48 municipalities that require special intervention.
In this regard, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs will continue to implement support measures to improve leadership and governance in those municipalities, including specific focus on financial sustainability of those municipalities in question. Amongst other key areas, support is provided to ensure that action plans are implemented to reverse the negative audit outcomes. In collaboration with National Treasury and Salga, Cogta is
providing targeted support to improve revenue collection, budgeting, accounts reconciliation, debt management and the implementation of financial recovery plans.
Additionally, Cogta is supporting municipalities through post audit action plans, capacity building and strengthening financial and performance management systems in those municipalities. These are also complemented by the already deployed District Technical Support Teams to all those municipalities in question.
Through our Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency, struggling municipalities are supported to accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects that address the delivery of basic services such as water and sanitation. This is one area where municipalities are greatly challenged. This support also includes procurement, contract management, project management, infrastructure maintenance and the overall institutional capacity to roll out infrastructure projects.
To strengthen government's support to local government, the President has appointed an Interministerial committee on service delivery at district level to co-ordinate the work of
government on the delivery of services in a manner that responds promptly to community concerns.
In the main, this committee will work with Cogta and key service delivery departments to respond in an integrated and co-ordinated fashion to challenges that are raised by our communities. Where appropriate, it will also enlist and mobilize partnerships with the private sector to complement government's resources in trying to respond to urgent development and service delivery challenges.
We are cognisant that at its briefing to the NCOP' Select Committee on Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, on 16 July 2019, this year, the department indicated that within the next month it will brief Parliament on a comprehensive five-year strategic framework on how to deal with the challenges that are encountered by our municipalities. This will clearly outline interventions aimed at changing the face of our local municipalities.
We also anticipate that Parliament will engage the department's strategic framework when it is tabled so that together we can ensure the speedy implementation of our
interventions that are aimed at improving the quality of services to our people are delivered. Thank you very much. [Applause.]