Politician Profile Page
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
NEM Amendment Laws Bill: Legal Opinion; Department on Waste Tyre Collection & Recycling Programme; South African Weather Services response to whistle-blowers
13 Mar 2018
The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs was briefed by its legal advisors on the legal options available to it regarding the National Environmental Management (NEM) Amendment Laws Bill. It was decided that, based on the discussions the Committee had with the Chief State Law Advisor, the Parliamentary Law Advisor, the ...
Mineral and Petroleum Resources
Optimum Mine: Minister, DMR, NUM & business rescue progress reports
7 Mar 2018
This was a follow up meeting with the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to discuss the industrial action, non-payment of workers’ salaries and the placing of Optimum Coal Mine under business rescue. At the previous meeting, the Committee had expressed dissatisfaction with the low-level DMR delegation attending the meeting who ...
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Biodiversity Colloquium; with Minister
27 Feb 2018
The Chairperson said the rationale for this colloquium was to home in on the value of a segment of South Africa’s wildlife economy. The theme was structured to address both consumptive and non-consumptive uses of wildlife against the background of existing government policy and legislative frameworks.
The Department of Environmental ...
Mineral and Petroleum Resources
Non-attendance by Minister of Mineral Resources; Decision on Inquiry into state capture
21 Feb 2018
The Portfolio Committee on Minerals Resources met in order to question the Minister of Mineral Resources about his possible involvement in State Capture. However, two days previously the Chairperson had received a letter stating that the Minister would be unavailable to appear before the Committee. In response to the Chairperson’s ...
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Annual Report late tabling; UNFCCC COP 23 conference; SADC Protocol on Environmental Management for Sustainable Development
20 Feb 2018
The Department of Environmental Affairs presented a report on the outcomes of the 23rd session of the conference of the parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP23), held from 6 to 17 November 2017 in Bonn, Germany, and the significance of developments in the negotiations for South ...
Finance Standing Committee
Carbon Tax Draft Bill: National Treasury briefing
13 Feb 2018
The briefing by National Treasury on the draft Carbon Tax Bill consisted of two presentations. The first presentation clarified South Africa’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction system, while the second detailed South Africa’s Draft Carbon Tax Bill, 2017.
In 2015, Cabinet had approved South Africa’s climate change mitigation system framework. ...
Mineral and Petroleum Resources
State Capture: way forward; Mine lung diseases & silicosis class action cases: political intervention
29 Nov 2017
The Department of Mineral Resources, led by the Deputy Minister, briefed the Committee on the political interventions on the mine lung diseases and silicosis class action cases.
The Deputy Minister said South Africa was a strong mining country, but mining had also been damaging to the environment and had left ...
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Climate Finance Colloquium
28 Nov 2017
The Chairperson of the Committee on Environmental Affairs introduced the colloquium on climate change financing by warning that sufficient scientific evidence existed that proved the continued devastating effects of climate change throughout the world, and especially in Africa. The levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and global temperatures had grown at ...
Mineral and Petroleum Resources
Lung Diseases on Mines and silicosis class action cases: ex-mineworkers lawyers briefing
22 Nov 2017
The Committee received briefings from legal firms involved in the class action cases dealing with lung diseases and silicosis suffered by former miners, as well as submissions from representatives of mining houses, the Chamber of Mines, the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and the national Department of Health (DoH). ...
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Marine Spatial Planning Bill: adoption; Department, SAWS, SANBI Quarter 1& 2 performance
22 Nov 2017
The Committee was briefed by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and two of its entities – the South African Weather Service (SAWS) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) – on their performance during the first two quarters of the current financial year.
The South African Weather Service ...