Honourable Members,   Effective local government is essential to improving the lives of our people, supporting local economic development and creating the conditions for investment and job creation.   According to the Constitution, the three spheres of government are distinctive, interdependent and interrelated.   While the Constitution says that each sphere must respect the constitutional status, institutions, powers and functions of government in other spheres, it places a responsibility on national and provincial governments to support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities.   The strengthening of municipalities is an important priority of this administration.   Regarding the restoration of municipal capacity, we havefocused on building a more capable, professional and developmental local government system by strengthening leadership and administration in municipalities.   We have been working to improve coordination across the three spheres of government, including through the introduction of the District Development Model.   We have undertaken targeted support to municipalities experiencing the greatest governance and service delivery challenges.   In respect of strengthening accountability, government has intensified oversight and monitoring and strengthened consequence management.   We have supported interventions where municipalities are unable to fulfil their constitutional obligations.   National government has also enhanced collaboration between institutions responsible for governance, financial oversight and combating corruption.   Looking to the future, we are close to completing a review of the White Paper on Local Government, which envisages far-reaching reforms to this critical sphere of government.   These reforms are directed towards building stable, capable and accountable municipalities that can deliver reliable basic services.   They are directed towards restoring public confidence in local government and creating an enabling environment for inclusive economic growth and sustainable job creation.   #RamaphosaQandA(Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦)