Chairperson, I gladly follow on after hon member Marais, a member of the committee on which I serve. Let me start by saying that the ANC supports the Geoscience Amendment Bill. This Bill seeks to amend the principal Act, the Geoscience Act of 1993, so as to strengthen the mandate of the Council for Geoscience.
This amendment will allow the council to play a greater role in research and development in the mining industry by, among other things, promoting the search for and exploitation of any minerals in South Africa; undertaking geoscientific research and related technological development; and acting as a national advisory authority in respect of geohazards related to infrastructure and development and geoenvironmental pollution arising from the mineral industry.
Public submissions were received by the committee from the relevant stakeholders, as the process requires. It was outlined that the Bill, in particular, seeks to put in place mechanisms that will deal with problems associated with building on dolomitic land. Such land is susceptible to sinkholes, as has been said before, and therefore the danger of loss of life exists. The ANC wants to ensure that the land released for development is stable.
The geotechnical industry is an integral part of urban planning, civil engineering and the mining sectors of our economy. A geotechnical investigation is a precursor to every infrastructure development project in South Africa, such as urban township development, roads, railways, sanitation, water, mine infrastructure and so on.
The geotechnical industry is therefore responsible for ensuring safe, responsible and sustainable infrastructure development. The economic growth of our country hinges on this. Where public safety is at stake, through the actions of unscrupulous and opportunistic developers, regulatory intervention is required.
Chairperson, geohazards are also increasingly important in the field of disaster management, both globally and in South Africa. The Council for Geoscience is in a strong position to provide services and consult in this area through its huge information base and considerable expertise that it possesses, contrary to what the previous speaker was saying here.
The development of a national geohazard system for South Africa addresses geohazards issues by using geological information held by the Council for Geoscience. This system plays a significant supporting role for critical stakeholders such as planning authorities, municipalities and many other public organisations.
With an estimated figure in excess of 11 000 property transactions per year, and growing as building stock increases, there's a high demand for technical data regarding the ground conditions upon which these properties could be built or already exist.
The use of historical data and local knowledge of all geohazard occurrences and their effects can provide the basis for an understanding of what could happen in the future.
Chairperson, the home building manual of the National Home Builders Registration Council prescribes the technical requirements to be met by both engineers and home builders. It requires that a competent person shall investigate any proposed township areas which are underlain by dolomite, and prepare a clearly motivated report detailing any precautionary measures that are required to reduce the risk of sinkhole formation.
The report must therefore be submitted to the Council for Geoscience for their confirmation that the investigations were conducted on the stability of dolomitic land referred to in the report.
I am not surprised that the DA is not supporting this Bill because during the public hearings that we held, the DA was at pains to try to drive the committee to appoint the board. Where have you seen that? The DA is also worried that the Minister has got this responsibility of appointing the board. The DA's problem is that it wants to control everything; it is used to that and indeed it wants to control it. [Applause.]
They have a concern about the mining company that is in the offing. It is coming, like it or not, because the wealth of this country belongs to the people of this country and not anywhere else. [Interjections.]
Your worry is that these engineering companies want the government to buy information from them about this country - that is not on. The government will establish mechanisms that are going to make it possible for the government to get information about the mineral resources of this country, Trollip. [Applause.]