Hon Speaker, I commend the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs for finalising the National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Bill. The current Bill was part of a National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill, which was split by Parliament into two Bills. The first amending Bill, primarily dealing with biodiversity issues, was passed by the NA in November 2012 and has also been passed by the NCOP with amendments ... [Interjections.] ... the National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Bill.
Members on my right, please! Order! You are distracting the speaker.
The main purpose of the National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Bill is to amend certain provisions of the National Environmental Management Act of 1998, to close regulatory gaps and to further enhance the environmental management systems.
The Bill will enhance service delivery as it provides for environmental management programmes and plans to be prepared and to be reviewed by the relevant national department and provincial departments, at least every five years, in accordance with government priorities.
The Bill further facilitates the integration of environmental planning processes within the three spheres of government. The Bill formalises an environmental outlook report to track the state of the environment and the effectiveness of the environmental management system in achieving the desired level of sustainability.
The Bill also promotes the mainstreaming of the integrated environmentally sustainable and sound management considerations into everyday business processes, practices, technology and decision-making across the economy.
The Minister will be able to endorse green labelling under certain circumstances.
The Bill enables the use of spatial tools, norms and standards and environmental management instruments in decision-making as an alternative to environmental authorisation procedures. The aim is to ensure that there is a reduction in terms of the administrative and financial aspects It will also enhance development and increase regulatory certainty.
The Bill will assist in creating an enabling environment that will contribute to ensuring that government priorities are met, for example, by facilitating the environmental assessment of strategic infrastructure projects and other developments in terms of the National Development Plan. It also provides legal clarity in circumstances under which the Minister will be the competent authority for the issuing of the environmental authorisation. The Bill will further ensure that all decisions on environmental authorisation are taken timeously. Although the Bill still provides for the rectification of the commencement of illegal activities, it goes a long way in closing the regulatory gaps that were open for abuse and also provides legal clarity that contraveners of the law can still be prosecuted, despite making use of rectification processes.
The Minister is also provided with the power to issue directives to address a variety of situations and the administrative fine has been substantially increased. The Bill strengthens the enforcement provisions in the Act. Environmental inspectors will be able to, without a warrant, seize vehicles of any kind where they are used in the commission of an offence or where they may afford evidence of the commission of the offence. The Bill makes it easier to issue section 28 directives to cap pollution.
The Bill also makes provision for the government to respond quickly in emergency situations but it also simultaneously closes loopholes and tightens gaps to avoid the abuse of these provisions.
The Bill provides the Minister with a legal mandate to develop regulations to deal with certain products that may cause substantial harm to the environment. However, the Bill requires consultation with all relevant Cabinet Ministers before publication of any regulations on this matter. All offences that were previously scattered across the Act have now been collated in one section in the Act, which will make it easier to read the Act.
In conclusion, the National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Bill is intended to strengthen the environmental management system and, at the same time, provide the state with more muscle in terms of the enforcement. Thank you.
Hon members, I really implore you to lower your voices so that we can hear the speakers. I am even saying please.
Hon House Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, esteemed members of the environmental sector, ladies and gentlemen, on this occasion I rise on behalf of the ANC and, hopefully, the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs, to support and recommend the adoption of the National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Bill.
The National Environmental Management Act of 1998, also known as Nema, is the umbrella environmental framework legislation which provides the bedrock for environmental management in South Africa. Other specific environmental management Acts were promulgated thereafter to deal with specific mediums of the environment, namely the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act of 2003, the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act of 2004, the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act of 2004, the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act of 2008 and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act of 2008.
On 6 May 2012, the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill was introduced and referred to the portfolio committee. The Bill is a composite amendment Bill which seeks to amend five of the six pieces of environmental legislation mentioned above, as well as the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Act of 2008.
After public hearings and deliberations, the portfolio committee proposed that the Bill be split into two, as well as the immediate passing of the National Environmental Management Laws First Amendment Bill, in order to amend the following Acts: The National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act; the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act; the National Environmental Management: Waste Act; the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act; and the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Act, Nemla, of 2008.
The first amending Bill was adopted by the National Assembly on 14 November 2012, and was adopted with amendments by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs in the National Council of Provinces on 7 May 2013. The portfolio committee further agreed that the proposed amendments in the Bill to the centrepiece legislation, the National Environmental Management Act, required further deliberation as they raised serious constitutional and political challenges, in respect of which the portfolio committee required further information, legal advice and proposed amendments. These amendments would then be processed in a separate Bill as a National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Bill. The second amendment Bill, after the said information and advice was placed before the committee, has now been processed and unanimously adopted by the portfolio committee. The portfolio committee also agrees with the tagging of the Bill as a section 76 Bill, and is of the view that the second amendment Bill should also be tagged as a section 76 Bill.
The second amendment Bill makes many substantive and innovative amendments to the present environmental legislative framework contained in the National Environmental Management Act, but within the time constraints I will highlight but a few.
Clause 5 of the second amendment Act amends section 24 of the Act. Mindful of the urgent need for sustainable development in our country, the need to monitor the environmental sustainability of development, the need to mainstream plans and processes implemented by national and provincial departments into our environmental management systems and the need to facilitate the selection and use of the most appropriate and effective environmental management instruments and spatial tools in developmental decision-making, amendments to section 24, the centrepiece of the National Environmental Management Act, have been made that will give effect to these intentions.
Clause 5 enables, when appropriate, the use of spatial tools, norms and standards, and environmental management instruments in decision-making, as an alternative to environmental authorisation procedures where: firstly, specified activities in certain geographical areas based on environmental attributes and specified and adopted spatial tools on environmental management instruments may be excluded from the requirement to obtain an environmental authorisation; secondly, listed activities may be excluded from the requirement to obtain an environmental authorisation, as long as they comply with adopted norms and standards; thirdly, listed activities based on adopted environmental management instruments may be excluded from the requirement to obtain an environmental authorisation, and fourthly, the Minister may prohibit the granting of environmental authorisation in a particular geographical area if it is necessary to ensure the protection of the environment.
Clause 5(d) was inserted to allow the relevant competent authority to lay down the procedure for the preparation, evaluation and adoption of the instruments referred to in section 24(2)(c)(d) and (e), including criteria or conditions to be included in such instruments. The amendments to section 24(10)(a) now allow for the development and adoption of norms or standards for sectors, geographical areas, parts of listed or specified activities or a combination of activities, sectors and geographical areas.
Clause 6 of the second amendment Bill amends section 24(c) of the Act. There are differing views in relation to the environmental authorisation applications which have an international impact, for which the Minister is the competent authority. The amendment seeks to provide the necessary clarity.
Furthermore, over the years, Cabinet took a number of decisions declaring certain projects as a national priority, for example the renewable energy plan projects. Such decisions create a challenge, with respect to the competent authority, to process the environmental authorisation applications for those priority projects. This amendment will provide clarity that an activity relating to a matter that has been declared a national priority by Cabinet must be processed by the national department.
However, the portfolio committee was mindful that this power may encroach on the powers of other competent authorities. Therefore, a process was inserted to alert other competent authorities to the possibility that Cabinet may take such a decision. The decision must be published in the Gazette in order to notify the public and other competent authorities of such decision. Further amendments are proposed in instances where MECs who are responsible for environmental affairs fail to take decisions within prescribed timeframes. An applicant may then request the Minister to take the decision. When considering these subsections, the portfolio committee was mindful of section 125(2)(b) of the Constitution of 1996, which provides that the Premier, together with other members of the executive, has the power to implement all national legislation within the functional areas listed in Schedule 405 of the Constitution, except where the Constitution or an Act of Parliament provides otherwise. Therefore, the intention of this amendment is to make provision for this exceptional circumstance in instances where the MEC, either unreasonably or due to capacity challenges, fails to make a decision within the prescribed timeframes. Then the Minister will become the competent authority after strictly complying with the process and procedure now being provided for.
The portfolio committee was also mindful of section 125(3) of the Constitution, which obliges the national government, by legislation or other measures, to develop the administrative capacity required for the effective exercise of their powers and the performance of their functions. The Minister is obliged to report annually to Parliament on the exercise of this power.
Clause 9 of the second amendment Bill amends section 24(g) of the Act. Over the years, a trend in the abuse of the section 24(g) authorisation process has been noticed and is a source of major complaint. Many people knowingly tend to commence with a listed activity without an environmental authorisation, and later apply for a section 24(g) environmental authorisation to rectify the unlawful commencement. These challenges, amongst others, pose serious dangers to the credibility of the environmental impact assessment process. Therefore, in an effort to deal with these challenges, clause 9 makes substantive amendments to address the mentioned abuse of section 24(g), in that applicants proceed with illegal activities on the assumption that their section 24(g) applications will be successful, and furthermore, that competent authorities have experienced reluctance from the National Prosecuting Authority to institute prosecution once a person has applied for, or has received, an environmental authorisation in terms of section 24(g). The relevant competent authorities are now given substantive powers to issue directives for a variety of reasons to enforce stricter adherence to this clause. The requirements for a report to be compiled by the applicant have been tightened and the administrative fine has been increased considerably.
The section is amended to make it clear that criminal prosecution may still be instituted, despite the fact that a person has applied for environmental authorisation in terms of section 24(g). The amendment also allows for the relevant competent authority to defer a decision until such time as the criminal investigation has been concluded. The amendment will also provide clarity on the applicability of section 24(g) to the unlawful commencement of waste management activities under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act.
Clause 13 of the second amendment Bill amends section 30 of the Act and clause 14 of the second amendment Bill inserts section 30A into the Act. Clauses 13 and 14 introduce amendments that clarify the distinction between an incident as referred to in section 30 of the Act and an emergency situation which will be regulated in terms of a new section 30A. While section 30 deals with the reporting and remediation duties of a person responsible for the sudden, unexpected and uncontrolled release of hazardous substances, a new section 30A seeks to address a situation where a listed or specified activity is about to commence in response to an emergency situation where the timeframes do not allow for normal assessments or applications for environmental authorisation.
An example of the latter emergency situation is the commencement of flood defence activities by a local authority in response to sudden and inclement weather conditions. In these types of situations the urgent response times would not permit the conducting of the normal environmental assessment and authorisation process but would now be subject to written or verbal directives by the competent authority. The definition of an emergency situation now includes a disaster as defined in the Disaster Management Act of 2002. Therefore, the new section 30A allows the competent authority to issue a directive on own initiative, or on written or oral request, in order to prevent or contain an emergency or disaster, or to prevent, contain or mitigate the effects of the emergency or disaster.
In order for this second amendment Bill, when enacted, to come into effect, the following requires immediate action by the department: section 16(a)(4); section 30(a); and section 44(a)(d). Acknowledging that it would not be possible to bring all the sections of the Act into effect immediately, the schedule to the Bill indicates the dates on which the various sections will come into effect. Therefore, all the clauses of the Bill will come into effect immediately upon the publication of the Bill in the Gazette by the President in terms of section 81 of the Constitution, except for four clauses which will come into effect at a later date. The portfolio committee recommends that the House agree that the second amendment Bill should be tagged as a section 76 Bill, and that the amendments contained in the second amendment Bill be adopted.
Furthermore, the portfolio committee notes that these amendments are part of its ongoing efforts to monitor and improve the environmental management system, both in the immediate and longer terms. In this context, the portfolio committee notes that, to a large extent, the legislation is focused on regulating sustainable production and that there is little emphasis on sustainable consumption issues. To this end, the portfolio committee requests the department to provide it with a report on possible options for a more comprehensive and balanced integrated environmental management system before the end of 2013.
In conclusion, let me thank the department for all its hard work in helping us to fundamentally change many aspects of the Bill, and once again, may I also thank all the parties in the committee for so diligently making sure that we pass this Bill today. I thank you. [Applause.]
House Chairperson, good afternoon. On 6 May 2012 the Democratic Alliance welcomed the introduction of five pieces of environmental legislation, namely, the National Environmental Management Act, the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Act, and the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Amendment Act.
Under the National Environmental Management Act, during the implementation phase, many service delivery problems were encountered, especially by the Department of Co-operative Governance, that hampered and delayed service delivery. These challenges have now been addressed in the amendments and hopefully will no longer be used as a scapegoat for nondelivery.
The continued proactive participation and input around these challenges by the DA-led Western Cape provincial government was a welcome contribution to the finalisation of these amendments. It needs to be noted that the Western Cape provincial government was the only province that played an active role in providing insight into the problems and challenges around the previous shortcomings of the legislation.
A welcome amendment to the Bill grants the Minister the responsibility of becoming the competent authority in the issuing of environmental authorisations when an MEC fails to take decisions on the issuing of the environmental authorisations, either unreasonably or within a prescribed timeframe due to lack of capacity or for any other reason.
We, however, need to be clear and mindful that this provision will only apply when the unnecessary delays are caused by the MEC and not the consultants handling the applications. This amendment will accelerate and facilitate development and job creation and encourage investment.
The portfolio committee was mindful of section 125(3), which obliges the national government, by legislation, to assist and develop administrative capacity in order to ensure that provincial departments are functioning correctly. This section also makes provision and obliges the Minister to report to Parliament annually.
A further welcome addition is that the national and provincial departments responsible for environmental affairs as well as metropolitan and district municipalities will have to prepare and publish environmental outlook reports within four years of the Bill coming into operation. These reports will also have to be published at intervals of no more than four years thereafter.
Section 24(e), as amended, deals with the transfer of rights and obligations, and will ensure that the environmental authorisations will be transferred when there is a change in ownership. Numerous problems have been encountered in which many entities commenced knowingly with a listed activity without environmental authorisation. They only apply at a later stage, subsequently paying fines that were built into their costing structures.
Section 24(g) deals with this in a very stringent manner and substantive amendments have been made. The administrative fine has also been increased considerably to R5 million, which must be determined by the competent authority. The co-operation of the National Prosecuting Authority, the NPA, is critical in this regard. Many of our citizens live in an environment that is detrimental and harmful to their health and wellbeing in our country. We therefore agree that the state must respect and protect our wellbeing.
Furthermore, the economic and environmental rights of all persons should be considered and protected. The wellbeing and needs of the previously disadvantaged communities are many a time disregarded. We cannot continue to ignore the shortcomings and should continue to improve their situations and fight for their rights as contained in the Constitution.
The evaluation of sustainable development must take into consideration the socioeconomic environmental factors during the planning processes in order to implement them in a manner that is not detrimental to the environment.
The Democratic Alliance welcomes all attempts in the tidying up of the grey areas in the Act. The definitions and functions are now clarified in order to avoid further confusion about the competent authorities.
I would like to thank the portfolio committee chairperson for his tireless efforts and legal expertise, as well as the department, and our colleagues on the portfolio committee for all the hard work in finalising this amending Bill. The DA supports the National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Bill. [Applause.]
Mr Chairperson, we are talking about the environment. It is very important, so members should take a little bit more interest in this debate.
Two days ago, the Treasury made known their plans to introduce a carbon tax - listen - according to them, not to raise revenue, but to change the behaviour of ordinary South Africans and companies. South Africa is unfortunately the leader on this continent in terms of excessive emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Having said that, we are still a small contributor in terms of this, from a global perspective.
Why am I saying this? What do carbon tax proposals have to do with this Bill? The point is that when you have excellent environmental laws like we did, and you improve them, as we are doing here today, the challenge is to implement them and, without fear, to protect the environment. When you have done that and you have not by then changed the behaviour of companies and businesses and individuals, that is when you revert back to a tax proposal in terms of a carbon tax, not before you have done your job.
Now, we possess the best legal framework to protect our environment, but still businesses and individuals get through the cracks because their wellbeing and profits are far more important to them than the environment.
These amendments today make it even easier now to track down the guilty and to penalise them appropriately. The proviso is that it must be done and the relevant authorities must not fail us. The fragmented approach sometimes taken by different provinces creates the wrong precedent on how to deal with the environment and those who violate the laws. This is a problem. If we take, for example, two adjoining provinces such as Limpopo and Mpumalanga, and we find that, in Limpopo, they interpret the Act in a certain way and in Mpumalanga which is next to it, they do it differently, that is not good. Perhaps the hon Deputy Minister must make it her task to make sure that this does not happen in the future.
When you engage in an activity that may be harmful to the environment, it is all about integrity and ethical behaviour. The way you as an individual treat the environment will show up your character.
I want to congratulate the Minister and the Deputy Minister today on these amendments and hope the amendments will be utilised with renewed energy to penalise those who are wrong.
I further want to commend the hon chairperson of the portfolio committee. He is a hard worker and he is good for the environment. I might differ from him slightly regarding the legalising of the rhino horn trade, but let us not debate that today. Let us leave that for another day. Cope supports these amendments.
Hon Chairperson and colleagues, the hon Zikalala serves on this committee but she has been called away urgently and has asked me to make a contribution on her behalf. I am delighted she asked me to do so because the Deputy Minister and I worked very closely together on the 1998 founding Act when I was the MEC for Environmental Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal. Well done, Minister and Deputy Minister, for the good job that you are still doing. [Applause.] I now proceed to read what hon Zikalala would have said had she been here.
At the outset let me say what a pleasure it has been to work on this Bill. The portfolio committee, very ably chaired by Adv Johnny de Lange, was largely of one voice on this Bill. As the IFP we believe the provisions of the National Environmental Management Act that this Bill seeks to amend are very necessary. The Inkatha Freedom Party has stated before what a great and solemn custodial duty we hold towards the management, security and welfare of our environment. All around us, we see our environment under continuous assault from unscrupulous business practices and the irresponsible behaviour of a few.
As government we have the duty to ensure that our environmental laws are adequately enforced so that we are able to act expediently if there are any transgressions. This Bill, through its amendments, seeks to remove ambiguities and impediments to service delivery as well as to protect of our environment. Of particular import is the current amendment of the provisions of section 11, which are currently not aligned with the term of office of a new government. This nonalignment will have the potential to greatly hamper our strategic planning. Clause 2 of this Bill addresses this shortcoming through the adjustment of timeframes for the preparation of environmental implementation plans by national and provincial governments departments so as to enable a five-year as opposed to a four-year planning horizon.
Our provinces, metropolitan and district municipalities are key role- players in the effective environmental management of our land. They are at the coal face of effective environmental management and we strongly support the publication of an environmental outlook report in a four-year cycle.
We call on the National Prosecuting Authority and the department to be fearless and relentless in their investigation and prosecution of any and all who contravene sections of the Act.
In conclusion, we state again that we must remain ever vigilant and mindful of our God-given natural resources. Their safe and sustainable use, coupled with our responsible footprint, will ensure the availability of resources ad infinitum for generations to come. Our environment provides our people with employment, food, shelter, medicine and spiritual wellbeing. It is all we have; it is everything we have, and we need to look after it.
Madam Chairperson and hon Deputy Minister, this is what I want to say on my own behalf: When plastic bags seem to be our national flower and rhinos are being killed in the manner they are by unscrupulous individuals and syndicates, it means there is a lot more to be done. However, in this instance, we as the IFP wholly support a safe, renewable and a healthy environment for all South Africans. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, Ministers and hon members, the National Environmental Management Act, Act 107 of 1998, referred, in section 24(g), to the unlawful commencement, undertaking or conducting of a waste management activity, the control thereof and rectification of the commencement of such unlawful activities.
Over the years a trend has been noticed in the abuse of section 24(g), which deals with the environmental authorisation process. Many people tend to knowingly commence with a listed activity without environmental authorisation and only afterwards apply for section 24(g) environmental authorisation to rectify the unlawful commencement.
From the Department of Environmental Affair's, DEA's, 2009-10 National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report, it appears that a fairly significant component of the enforcement function, notably at provincial government level, relates to the conducting of unauthorised activities and associated section 24(g) rectifications. Almost every province cited illegal listed activities as the most prevalent crime reported. These challenges pose serious dangers to the credibility of the environmental impact assessment process.
Numerous complaints have been received from the public that section 24(g) is abused in that applicants proceed with illegal activities on the assumption that their 24(g) applications will be successful. Furthermore, the competent authorities have experienced reluctance on the part of the National Prosecuting Authority to institute prosecution once a person has applied for or has received an environmental authorisation in terms of section 24(g).
The compliance and enforcement report also states that the department has begun to identify institutions and persons that continue to contravene environmental legislation despite enforcement action having been taken against them. Although these organisations, including some parastatals, obtain relevant environmental authorisations, officials from the department continue to detect noncompliance with the conditions of these authorisations. It has also been said that some of these entities make provision in their annual budgets to pay the fines that will be imposed on them for wilfully contravening the provisions of the Act. The most recent noncompliance was detected in relation to construction activities along highways in Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
Based on repeated contraventions such as these, enforcement responses will now be stepped up, as the administrative enforcement tools which have been used up to now in relation to these contraventions do not appear to be effective in raising the level of compliance. In an effort to deal with the challenges, the amending Bill introduces more stringent provisions and, more specifically, the consequences for unlawful commencement of a listed activity. Prosecutorial actions against even parastatals and others can now be launched if precompliance and compliance notices are ignored.
The Minister of Environmental Affairs, the Minister of Mineral Resources and the relevant MECs responsible for environmental affairs are given substantive powers to issue directives for a variety of reasons. The administrative fine is increased from R1 million to R5 million while the requirements for the report to be compiled by the applicant have been tightened.
It is made clear that criminal prosecution may still be instituted despite the fact that a person has applied for an environmental authorisation in terms of section 24(g). It also serves as a reminder to the authorities that the High Court is not bound by the limitation in relation to penalties set by the Act. In cases where the competent authority is of the view that more severe penalties are warranted, it can approach the National Prosecuting Authority to institute criminal proceedings in the High Court.
The amendment also allows the Minister of Environmental Affairs, the Minister of Mineral Resources and the MEC to defer a decision until such time as the criminal investigation has been concluded. The amendment will also provide legal clarity on the applicability of section 24(g) to the unlawful commencement of waste management activities under the 2008 National Environmental Management: Waste Act.
Furthermore, amendments are introduced that clarify the distinction between an incident and an emergency situation, and to address situations where activities are about to commence in response to emergency situations. An example of such an emergency situation is the commencement of flood defence activities by a local authority in response to sudden and inclement weather conditions. The definition of an emergency situation is therefore aligned to a disaster as defined in the Disaster Management Act.
In conclusion, the vision of the ANC has always sought, and still seeks, to embrace a transformative environmentalism based upon the concept of sustainable development in terms of the interconnection of environmental, social and economic justice. The ANC is therefore constantly working on establishing legislative and administrative systems to ensure effective environmental management and to embrace an approach that encourages environmental organisations and communities to play an active role in ensuring environmental protection in the public interest.
I would like to thank the chairperson of the portfolio committee for his leadership and assistance and his legal expertise in helping us to understand these Bills. I also thank the members of the portfolio committee and officials in the department for work well done.
The ANC supports the adoption of the Bill. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members, distinguished guests in the gallery, I greet you all. Let me start by thanking all the speakers who spoke before me for the positive input they made in this debate and the contributions they made to the committee.
I must say that I think the government's law enforcement agencies are ready for the implementation of this law. It is upon the department, the Minister and the law enforcement agencies to enforce the law, because now we have the proper legislation that will assist in that regard. It is true that the challenges are addressed, but what is needed is for stakeholders to work together in order to make sure that this legislation is implemented accordingly.
With regard to the concern about capacity-building that was raised by members from the opposition side, I want to say that it is within the programme of this department and the Minister to make sure that all people who are within the department are properly capacitated to implement this law. The amending Bill brings into being fundamental and necessary changes that we have been working towards over some time. We welcome these amendments as they will bring about the required changes to deal with the challenges we face. At the outset, we welcome the new timeframes for the preparation of environmental implementation and management plans, as this will give the necessary space for quality assurance in the submission of these plans.
The new clause 23(a) of the amending Bill, to which other speakers have alluded, will promote the mainstreaming of integrated environmentally sustainable and sound management considerations when conducting business processes. This means better mainstreaming of integrated environmentally sustainable and sound management considerations in business processes.
Clause 24 of the Bill that they spoke about, which is the core section of the Act, is being amended to cater for effective tracking of the environmental management systems, plans and processes by national and provincial departments. This refers to the use and promotion of the most appropriate environmental instruments and spatial tools in developmental decisions.
With reference to clause 6, the amendment of section 24(c) clarifies the procedure that identifies the Minister as the competent authority to ensure environmental authorisation where there are international implications. Clause 9, dealing with the amendment of section 24(g), addresses the main complaint from the public that applicants continue with unlawful activities on the assumption that their applications will be approved if they continue with such activities.
We are well aware that some companies have budgeted for this on an annual basis, thus manipulating the system. The Bill will address this dishonest practice. The further strength of the amending Bill is that the Minister will be able, for the first time, in terms of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, to exercise his powers on issues of the environment. This takes us forward. Clauses 13 and 14, as has been alluded, clarify the distinction between an incident and on emergency situation, which means that we now have clarity on the two terms.
The strength of clause 25 is that it consolidates the offences, penalties and defences into a single action, as they are currently scattered across the principal Act. We fully support the amendment that proposes that, in instances where the MEC responsible for environmental affairs fails to take a decision within prescribed timeframe, an applicant may request the Minister to take the decision.
We further welcome the enabling clause which empowers the Minister of Environmental Affairs, the Minister of Mineral Resources and the relevant MEC responsible for environmental affairs to issue a directive for a variety of reasons. In this context the administrative fee will play the necessary corrective role as it is being increased from R1 million, which certain companies budgeted for, to a more realistic R5 million penalty.
In conclusion, with these main amendments, we are certain that economic development will be enhanced and boosted as geographic uncertainties will be cleared up. The ANC supports the amending Bill. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Hon House Chairperson, I would like to thank the chairperson of the portfolio committee and all the committee members.
As I stated in my opening remarks, the aim of the National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Bill is to strengthen our environmental management system. We are serious about ensuring that there is compliance with our laws and that we are enforcing the protection of our precious environment.
This Bill is an attempt to create different measures, which will ensure that we fulfil our mandate in a more effective and efficient way. As I have indicated, the aim of this Bill is to move towards increased service delivery, stimulate investment, and create jobs for all.
Lastly, I take note of all the comments that have been made. I know that the environment unites us. However, let it not only unite the portfolio committee members. Instead, let it unite all of us, as members of this House. I hope that we will honour this Bill, spread the word, and keep our environment clean. I thank you.
Debate concluded.
Bill read a second time.