North West, the provincial Treasury is remaining with the responsibility of oversight as its prerogative and competence, signalling that the circumstances and scenarios are not similar and that the material conditions of the North West province are not as worse as it was the case with Limpopo. The intervention in Limpopo was ended or terminated on and around July 2014, after three years, with the then Minister of Finance saying Limpopo was a learning curve for South Africa and that it would be used as a reference point for government. At the time, the collapse of governance was a new thing to the democratic South Africa and it wasalso

acknowledged by the NCOP at the time. But how the Treasury has responded and turned the situation around was applaudable.

Hon Chair, when the national Treasury left Limpopo, it insisted that the premier should let it be known to his officials that the heads of departments, HODs, were inheriting the liability and responsibility of what happened during the course of administration under section 100(1)(b). At the time it was agreed by the NCOP Finance committee that it should be on a rare basis that such an intervention is implemented.

Hon Chair, flowing from this experience and contemplation of the Constitution that there would be a promulgation of the legislative framework for the guidance and the creation of regulatory faculty on the implementation of section 100 as well as section 139 Bill is developed for this purpose. Hopeful, that once concluded, we would have a means through which section 100 and section 139 of the Constitution would be guided. Where we are we know we are just in the trial and error. A delayed promulgation of the legislation to guide section 100 did not necessarily make the section 100 intervention difficult. We, as a provincial government, are of the view that section 100 has succeeded despite few of other presenting challenges. To respond to some hiccups, section 36

of Public Finance Management Act, PFMA, was used, amongst others, for the provincial Treasury to appoint administrators as accounting officers noting that heads of departments are appointed in terms of Public Service Act and automatically assume accounting officer's responsibility in terms of section 39 but any official other than head of department can become accounting officer in terms of section 36 of PFMA, not only for purpose of administration but also when HOD fails in terms of section 38 of the PFMA under exceptionalcircumstances.

Hon Chair and hon members, it is my submission today in this House that progress has been recorded since section 100 invocation and that the NCOP in its interaction with law enforcements on 11 June 2021, took note of the progress being done on tackling all allegations of corruption, malfeasance and maladministration even if the progress is slow. That it remains work in progress and that it does not mean work of law enforcement agencies and institutions supporting democracy come to an end, it does not mean that but they have to focus only on what has happened in the past as it is necessary to continue to unfold not only for present times but also for the future.

Filling of senior managers' posts continues and progress is being recorded on this area. Appreciating that the challenges for which section 100 was invoked flows from the fifth North West provincial administration, a test is whether or not the sixth North West provincial administration executive council has equally failed on its mandate. Has that been tested? A critical test is whether or not continued section 100 intervention that does not get reduced in its intensity or strength, does not hold potential to undermine prospects of sustainability of redress made by the section 100 administration. Isn't time for weaning off the administration or engaging on conditional handover which may include section 100(1)(a), allowing supervision of national departments and some form of mitigation against possible relapse?

Hon members the semi-federal system of national government with nine provincial governments was a set up made as a compromise during the Convention for a Democratic South Africa, Codesa, and related multilateral engagements when some parties insisted on their own autonomous or independent geographical space, and we know these provinces are funded through division of nationally generated revenue and not even able to fund themselves, and just likemunicipalities, and