Hon House Chair, some of the most common challenges that are encountered by the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs in respect of compliance with water resource protection are the following: illegal water use in areas or instances where activities occur after licensing; noncompliance with licence conditions, such as not meeting the effluent discharge requirements; not installing appropriate meters where it is necessary to install them; and lack of consistency in the recording of water use. These are only some of them.
With the recent establishment of the Directorate of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, for example, the department has stepped up the regulation function in order to ensure that there is a specialised focus on this function. Through that the department is also focusing on the training of personnel in the regulation field, coupling this with the capacitating of this directorate.
There are also stakeholder engagements and capacity-building, which will result in sector participation in self-regulation. As time goes on we would like to believe that, because of these efforts, the identified challenges will be reduced. Definitely, the assessment will happen under normal circumstances as the regulation function is continuously strengthened.
Workshops and meetings are also being held with municipalities in order to strengthen their capacity and to determine the areas of need. This is so that the department can provide support where necessary, especially during the incentive-based regulation process for Green and Blue Drop Certification.
Coupled with these efforts, a review of relevant regulation tools, which are regulation strategies, guidelines and so on, is currently under way. This review will confirm the suitability and relevance of these tools. Such tools include, amongst others, the development of guidelines for wastewater management for different industries; and the revision of current effluent standards, determining charge rates for the implementation of the waste discharge system.
Indeed, the deterioration of water quality due to noncompliance would impact negatively on industrial produce and influence financial viability of such industries, which in turn would impact on the economy. As we are saying, we note that this kind of challenge will lead to an impact on the economy. It will also affect the quality of raw water and directly increase the water treatment costs. Thank you. [Time expired.]
Ngibonga kakhulu kumhlonishwa uNgqongqoshe ngempendulo yakhe ecacile. Kuyiqiniso ukuthi kunabantu nezimboni ezisebenzisa amanzi ngezindlela ezingekho emthethweni, yize benawo amalayisensi. Ngemuva kokuba uMnyango ususungule i-Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, phecelezi i- CME Directorate, bangaki abantu noma izimboni esezibekwe amacala ngalesi senzo sokwephula umthetho. Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Ms P BHENGU: Thank you to the Minister for her clear response. It is true that there are individuals and industries that are using water illegally, even though they have licences. How many individuals and industries have been charged for breaking the law since the department has established the Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Directorate? Thank you.]
Hon Chair, we really must appreciate the work that is being done through the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs, of which the hon Bhengu is a member, and the great contribution that they are making in this department by pointing directly at areas where there are challenges; for example, where there are unlicenced water use and challenges of water pollution, and where the need for protection is great. Thank you.
Madam Minister, thank you for a very comprehensive reply in regard to all the various actions the department is taking. I would like to focus on the issue of the Directorate of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, the so-called Blue Scorpions, who are very important. Indeed, we need to protect our water resources. We certainly do not have enough. There are a number of pollution threats to our water sources, including failing wastewater treatment plants, and industrial pollution.
The question I have, though, is about the number of Blue Scorpions there are and how dedicated they are, not in terms of their personal commitment, but in terms of whether they have many other functions besides being Blue Scorpions. Only one province, Mpumalanga, has a dedicated Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement office. In the other eight provinces, as far as I know, Madam Minister, the so-called Blue Scorpions also have to perform other functions, which I'm sure you will agree is not the perfect situation.
Could you please give us an idea of when you intend to have dedicated Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Units up and running across the country in your regional offices? I thank you.
Thank you very much, hon member. I guess it is very obvious that if we were to establish dedicated units for compliance and monitoring, we would have to establish the Blue Scorpions, the Green Scorpions and maybe even the Brown Scorpions. It is necessary to understand that as government we would like to ensure that we actually utilise our teams in such a manner that they make a difference wherever they work.
The current team of Green Scorpions are obviously deployed all over for industrial pollution, air quality, even water quality, and so on. We probably need Blue Scorpions. However, the establishment of another dedicated team, if we are to establish it, will have to depend on the strengths of the teams that we are to set up in different provinces as we continue to strengthen the compliance and monitoring system, and even the teams.
At the national level we recently established the directorate. It used to be one directorate lumped with policy formulation. We have separated them now.
We are now establishing a dedicated team at the national level. Naturally, that will follow even in the provinces and regions where we are, because we call them regions. Those kinds of teams should then flow from the national team. It depends on the amount of work that they have, and on the amount of work that the Green Scorpions currently have. Only then will we be able to determine whether we need more and more teams. This is the beginning of setting up these compliance teams and their functioning. By the way, they do a lot of good work as well. We will then be able to decide at that time whether to expand on these teams or not. Thank you.
Steps taken to build a caring society
206. Mrs Y R Botha (ANC) asked the Minister of Social Development:
What steps has she taken to build a caring society in which children are inspired, motivated, involved and protected?