Hon Deputy Speaker, the IFP notes that the Bill before us today aims to provide our country with a better environmental management system in the form of the one environmental system, which the department has been trying to implement since 2008.
A more centralised environmental system for the country would allow for all environmental-related activities to be regulated through one system.
Together with the National Water Amendment Bill, the National Environmental Management Laws Third Amendment Bill will bring the overall protection of the environment under its scope. The Bill will achieve this objective by assisting the Department of Mineral Resources and empowering the Minister of that department with the capacity to implement the provisions in this Bill when dealing with mining or prospecting issues which can damage our environment if not managed properly.
The National Water Amendment Bill aims to streamline the licensing of water usage and deals with any appeals that may result from any applications that are in dispute with the Department of Mineral Resources.
These Bills create an atmosphere of co-operation between the Departments of Mineral Resources and Water and Environmental Affairs and have the potential to ensure not only that we mine for much-needed raw material in a responsible way, but also that no harm comes to the wildlife around us.
It is our responsibility to ensure that our children and their children will have an environment that they can continue to enjoy, rather than finding themselves left with a wasteland.
Water is a resource that needs to be managed very carefully. Incidents of acid mine drainage are environmental disasters and also pose a danger to our people's health.
Water contamination deals a heavy blow to our attempts to provide water to the people who need it; and the companies responsible for most of the contamination through their lack of waste management, will have to be held accountable for this issue. With these Bills, it is our hope not only that any damage to our environment will be minimised, but also that it will be extremely difficult for any more companies to dump their waste wherever they please, resulting in water contamination.
These companies can now be forced to implement better measures to ensure that when they produce their products, the environment does not become a casualty.
The IFP supports this Bill. Thank you.