A brief overview of the purpose of the meeting was outlined by the leader of the delegation. She pointed out that through its oversight visit the delegation intended to ensure that funds appropriated by Parliament were being spent effectively and efficiently and in accordance with the mandate of government. She explained that the delegation was especially interested in the expenditure of the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG), a new grant allocated to some of the municipalities such as the Buffalo City Municipality. The delegation was also interested in the plans to mitigate the effects of climate change and plans that would ensure an appropriate response to climate change in accordance with goal seven of the Millennium Development Goals, namely universal access to improved basic sanitation services and improving lives of the people living in informal settlements. Mr D Govender, Project Manager, briefed the delegation. The municipality was working closely with the national Department of Human Settlements. The municipality had 230 rural villages, 154 informal settlements. Eighty four informal settlements were in Mdantsane and some were due for formalisation. Land ownership was a challenge in the municipality. However, state land was in abundance but the land parcels from the parastatals were costing much. The municipality was using alternative technology in some projects, especially social housing projects.