DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM
DEPARTEMENT VAN OMGEWINGSAKE EN TOERISME
Ref: 02/1/5/2
MINISTER
QUESTION NO. 1024 FOR WRITTEN REPLY: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
A draft reply to Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) to the above-mentioned question is
enclosed for your consideration.
Ms. Nosipho Ngcaba
DIRECTOR-GENERAL
DATE:
DRAFT REPLY APPROVED/AMENDED
MINISTER
DATE:
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
(For written reply)
QUESTION NO. 1024
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 12 of 2009
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 28 August 2009
Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental
Affairs:
(1) Whether all provinces and municipalities have appointed air quality
officers in terms of the National Environmental Management: Air
Quality Act, Act 39 of 2004; if not, (a) which (i) provinces and (ii)
municipalities have not made the required appointments and (b) by
which date must these appointments be made;
(2) whether all provinces and municipalities have developed air quality
management plans; if not, (a) which (i) provinces and (ii)
municipalities have not developed such plans and (b) by what date
should these plans be developed;
(3) whether all national departments listed in Schedule 1 of the National
Environmental Management Act, Act 107 of 1998, have developed air
quality management plans; if not, (a) which national departments have
not developed such plans and (b) by when must these plans have been
developed;
(4) whether her department is confident that the Air Quality Act can be
implemented successfully; if not, what (a) obstacles to implementation
have been identified and (b) plans are in place to overcome these
obstacles?
NW1249E
MRS A T LOVEMORE (DA)
SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT
HANSARD
PAPERS OFFICE
PRESS
1024. THE MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ANSWERS:
In response to the questions posed, it is important that the following
responses are considered in the context of the 2007 National Framework for
Air Quality Management in the Republic of South Africa (Government Gazette
No. 30057 of 11 September 2007, Notice No. 830) which states in its Section
4.3 - The implementation of the functions by the three spheres of
government -
ââ¦it is important that all provinces and municipalities that experience
air quality issues within their jurisdictions [as per the list of
identified âproblemâ or âpotential problemâ areas provided in Table 24
of the National Framework) build the necessary organisational capacity
to implement [the air quality management] functions in an efficient and
effective manner and in a manner that is commensurate with the air
quality problems to be addressed⦠With a view to the effective and
efficient use of government resources, the creation and maintenance of
dedicated air quality management capacity in municipalities that are
not listed in table 24 may not be necessary to ensure effective air
quality management. As such, provincial departments are encouraged to
liaise with such municipalities with a view to cooperative agreements
in respect of air quality management functions.â
In essence, in the interests of ensuring the effective and efficient use of
government resources, the National Framework does not require
municipalities that have no air quality problems to use limited resources
to manage a ânon-issueâ.
1) To our knowledge, all provinces and municipalities listed in Table 24
of the National Framework have appointed air quality officers, or
interim air quality officers, with the exception of the Free State
which is in the process of appointing a new officer following the
resignation of the previous officer;
2) There is no requirement within the Air Quality Act for âstand-aloneâ
provincial or municipal air quality management plans, i.e. each
municipality must include an air quality management plan in its
integrated development plan (IDP) (Municipal Systems Act: Chapter 5)
and each province responsible for preparing an environmental
implementation plan (EIP) or environmental management plan (EMP) must
include in that plan an air quality management plan. Furthermore, the
department only expects to see these plans as part of the prerequisite
IDP, EIP or EMP for provinces and municipalities listed in Table 24 of
the National Framework. This notwithstanding, the following table
provides details on the status of air quality management planning â
|GOVERNMENT AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANS IN PLACE |
|Ref|Department / |Current Status |
|. |Municipality | |
|Provincial |
|1. |Gauteng |AQMP completed. Awaiting internal approval |
| | |prior to gazetting |
|2. |Free State |AQMP development process commenced in 2008, |
| | |however, the project was kept on hold since the |
| | |Director left the department. The post is not |
| | |yet filled. No stakeholder meeting took place |
| | |this year 2009 |
|3. |North West |AQMP completed. Awaiting internal approval |
| | |prior to gazetting |
|4. |Western Cape |AQMP under development. Expected to be |
| | |finalised in November 2009 |
|5. |Mpumalanga |About 80% of the hot-spots areas are under the |
| | |Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management |
| | |Plan which is currently underway |
|6. |Limpopo |Currently planning to develop AQMP in-house. |
| | |The actual process has not yet commenced |
|7. |KwaZulu-Natal |KZN has finalised the data inventory project. |
| | |AQMP process has not yet commenced |
|8. |Eastern Cape |EC has the intention to develop the AQMP, |
| | |however, financial constraints prohibit the |
| | |process from going forward |
|9. |Northern Cape |NC has indicated its intention based on air |
| | |quality hot-spots areas such as Kimberly and |
| | |Upington. No plans as yet |
|Municipalities |
|1. |Johannesburg |Completed and under implementation |
|2. |Ekurhuleni |Completed and under implementation |
|3. |Cape Town |Completed and under implementation |
|4. |Tshwane |Completed and under implementation |
|5. |eThekwini |Completed and under implementation |
|6. |Nelson Mandela |Under development |
|7. |Sedibeng |The Vaal Triangle Air-shed Priority Area Air |
| | |Quality management Plan is the de facto plan |
|8. |Nkangala |The Highveld Priority Area Air Quality |
| | |management Plan will be the de facto plan |
|9. |Gert Sibande |The Highveld Priority Area Air Quality |
| | |management Plan will be the de facto plan |
|10.|Capricorn |Completed and under implementation |
|11.|Ilembe District|Completed and under implementation |
| |Municipality | |
| |(Stanger) | |
|12.|Drankenstein |Under development |
|13.|Overburg |Under development |
|14.|Eden |Under development |
|15.|Cape Winelands |Under development |
|16.|West Coast |The West Coast District Municipality (Western |
| |District |Cape) is in the planning phase of developing an |
| |Municipality |Air Quality Management Plan and it is hoped that|
| | |funds for this purpose will be available during |
| | |the 2009/2010 financial year. |
|17.|Waterberg |Under development |
|18.|Fezile Dabi |Under development |
|19.|West Rand |Under development |
|20.|Metsweding |Under development |
|21.|Greater |Under development |
| |Sekhukhune | |
|22.|Keneth Kaunda |In the planning phase of developing their Air |
| | |Quality Management Plan and looking at |
| | |availability of funds |
|23.|Bojanala |Under development |
|24.|Rustenburg |Complete and under implementation |
|25.|Pietermaritzbur|Under development |
| |g | |
|26.|Mangaung |Under development |
|27.|Motheo |Under development |
|28.|Lejweleputswa |Under development |
|29.|Umhlathuze |Under development |
|30.|Msunduzi |Msunduzi Municipality is currently in the |
| | |process of developing a plan in partnership with|
| | |consultants (ZES) and DEAT. Output of present |
| | |project would be a baseline assessment report |
| | |and gap analysis. |
|31.|Buffalo City |Under development |
|32.|Lesedi |Lesedi is will be covered by the Highveld |
| | |Priority Area AQMP |
3) As above, there is no requirement within the Air Quality Act for
âstand-aloneâ departmental air quality management plans, i.e. each
department responsible for preparing an environmental implementation
plan (EIP) or environmental management plan (EMP) must include in that
plan an air quality management plan. Thus the department only expects
to see these plans as part of the prerequisite EIP or EMP for affected
departments. This notwithstanding, the 2007 National Framework serves
as the Department of Environmental Affairâs Air Quality Management
Plan.
4) The Department is confident that the National Environmental
Management: Air Quality Act (AQA) is, and will continue to be,
successfully implemented. The scarcity of skilled human resources in
the field of air quality management is a challenge. However, this is
not a uniquely South African problem but a global phenomenon. In order
to address this matter the Department has been undertaking capacity
building workshops throughout all nine provinces over the past two
years. Initially this capacity building was done using external
consultants but the Department has over time developed in-house
training skills. Currently all capacity building work undertaken by
the Department is achieved using in-house trainers. Additional to the
training was the development of a number of implementation manuals,
guideline documents and standardized templates. Furthermore, tailor-
made, accredited air quality governance training is also offered by
the University of Johannesburg and the Cape Peninsular University of
Technology.
The Department continues to offer capacity building and training, with
priority given to those municipalities specifically identified in
Table 24 of the National Framework for Air Quality Management in South
Africa. Following the full entry into effect of the AQA later this
year / early next year, the officials within the national department,
currently responsible for licensing, will become available as a
resource to the new licensing authorities. These officials will
provide on-going technical support and guidance. Several
intergovernmental structures have been developed over the past few
years that will also assist in the transition. Provincial - Municipal
Air Quality Officers Forums have been established in all nine
provinces. These forums meet on a regular basis and these allow for
the sharing of information, challenges and successes in the field of
air quality management. The National - Provincial Air Quality Officers
Forum allows for communication of important air quality matters from
the national department to all the provinces, which in turn
disseminate the information through their provincial forums. For the
past four years the Department has hosted an annual Intergovernmental
Air Quality Governance Lekgotla which brings together air quality
managers from all three spheres of government for a two-day conference
to discuss developments in the preparation for the full entry into
effect of the AQA. The increasing attendance at this annual event
indicates that there is steady growth in the numbers of officials
involved in air quality management matters.