We reply as follows. In response to section (1), municipalities are owed over R64,6 billion in debt. National and provincial governments owe R2,9 billion of that, and I think it is very interesting for us as legislators. All this throttles the capacity of municipalities to deliver quality services. We are working with the National Treasury to assist municipalities to implement revenue-enhancement strategies to assist them to raise more revenue to help them meet their service-delivery demands.
Firstly, we have started a process to review the Intergovernmental Fiscal Framework. A fiscal review summit, which hopefully the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta, members in this House will play a role in, is planned for February 2012. Secondly, we do not have the information asked for under (2). However, according to the Fourth Quarter Local Government Section 71 Preliminary Report released by National Treasury on 1 September 2011, municipalities owed R16,2 billion to their creditors as of 30 June 2011. As to what percentage of this is owed directly to financial institutions is unfortunately not yet known.
Thirdly, on whether we will make a statement on this matter, the Minister will consider making a statement as soon as the final section 71 report is released. May I point out that this matter of the debt owed to municipalities has been, if you like, a challenge that many of us, not least the Chairperson when he served on the Portfolio Committee on Provincial and Local Government in the National Assembly, have been preoccupied with. The most unacceptable part of it is that the provincial and national departments do not pay! We will be very keen on it if the NCOP can also put pressure on them, especially on provinces.
One lesson was drawn from the Eastern Cape province at one stage. At every second provincial cabinet meeting a standing item on the agenda was: What do provincial departments owe municipalities? How much has been paid? How much has not been paid? Why has the money that is supposed to have been paid not been paid? We think that this should be the norm in all provincial cabinets, including our national Cabinet really.
Municipalities simply must get the money that is due to them, especially from the provincial and national government departments. It is untenable, unacceptable and almost ridiculous that these monies are not paid. We should finally say, too, that there is a section of consumers who are not paying but who can afford to pay, like civil servants, teachers, businesspeople and others. They must pay.
However, there are those who are indigent and they just cannot pay. With over one million people having lost their jobs in the post-2008 global crisis, obviously the national government must come to the rescue of municipalities in respect of those who are genuinely indigent and cannot pay. We cannot expect local government to bear the burden of joblessness and a lack of economic growth. That is really ultimately the function of the national government to attend to.