On 3 and 4 October 2011, the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) hosted public hearings at the Protea Hotel Ranch Resort, Polokwane, Limpopo Province, on the financing of municipalities and requirements of the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF). A problem statement document1 was released by the FFC research team for stakeholder discussion at the hearings in order to strengthen analysis of the challenges relating to the LGFF. This discussion, complemented by the FFC’s international and national research, will be extended into a draft technical report, with an initial set of recommendations and policy options which will be considered at a second public hearing. Thereafter, the FFC will finalise the technical report. This will inform a structured research agenda going forward and will provide policy options to the issues raised via sound research, thereby making a contribution to the policy debate on reviewing the LGFF.

Submission by the Financial and Fiscal Commission