# National Treasury has defended its decision to temporarily withhold July’s equitable share transfers of 13.5-billion-rand from 69 municipalities over poor financial management, saying it complied with constitutional and legislative prescripts. This comes after the Financial and Fiscal Commission questioned the lawfulness of the decision. Deputy director-general in the Treasury’s office of the general counsel, advocate Empie van Schoor, says conditional grants can be withheld by the executive, but are subject to Parliament’s approval.
National Treasury defends decision to withhold municipal funds