The question is by hon Boshoff of Mpumalanga, eh. Hello, hello, hello Boshoff, hello. Yes, the Minister confirms that a mining right and environmental management programme are issued to William Patrick Bower (Pty) Ltd, in respect of Portion 6 and Portion 23 of Groenvlei and Portion 12 of Lakkavalli 322 JS situated in the magisterial district of Belfast in Mpumalanga province. It was issued on 09 November 2016.
The mining development was granted considering that it complied with the principles of integrated environmental management as prescribed in section 38(1) of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, MPRDA. The Minister was satisfied that the development will achieve the said principles and give effect to Chapter 5 of the
National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998. A local municipality has a mandate of considering and issuing rezoning to any land parcel falling within its jurisdiction. In that regard, they will have knowledge of the land parcels that are subject to rezoning applications and or where rezoning has been granted.
In other words, the rezoning part of any parcel of land in any municipality is not the responsibility of the department but it is the responsibility of the municipality. I would imagine that that is the planning section of the municipality that does rezoning. At the time of the consideration of the mining right application, the environmental impact assessment and the environmental management programme lodged in terms of section 39 of the Act, the Minister did consult in terms of section 40 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, Act 28 of 202 and the state department with the role in administering any laws relating to matters affecting the environment.
No, the Minister has not requested the water test from the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation. The requirement to provide water samples and tests is a condition of water use licence and falls within the competence of the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation in terms of the National Water Act
36 of 1998. The Minister has not been supplied with the report of the Environmental Impact Assessment studies that was conducted by the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries and is not aware of its content.
Therefore, that shows the complexity of that space that when you issue a mining licence, you must comply with the requirements that are located in two other departments. I am sure that in the Bill that is on the pipeline they will add agriculture. It is quite a complex exercise, we fulfil our part but other departments have also a responsibility over aspects of the legislation and of the work.