Chairperson, we in South Africa, as in many developing countries and emerging economies, have to strike an equitable and workable balance between our many developmental needs and objectives and the preservation and protection of our environment.
If we are to achieve the high economic growth rates needed to prosper and free many of our people from the poverty in which they are now trapped, our environment will most definitely suffer and bear the brunt of our increased activity if we do not take the necessary measures to try to protect it.
It is for this reason that we must ensure that issues concerning our environment are taken seriously and that there is legislation in place to provide protection for the environment and ensure its sustainability.
The National Environmental Management Act provides for the overarching legislative framework for environmental governance in South Africa. There was widespread support for this Act, which has transformed the landscape of our environmental legislation.
The Bill before us today proposes a number of amendments to the principal Act which will strengthen it and ensure that objectives are reached. This Bill will also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the integrated environmental management system by, amongst other things, moving away from the environmental impact assessment as the only environmental assessment tool, and enhancing environmental co-operation and co-ordination where an activity falls under the jurisdiction of more than one organ of state.
In a dynamic environment it is imperative that we are aware of the many changes and developments that occur and ensure that the necessary amendments are made to our legislation to ensure that it is still effective and able to achieve the objectives for which it was enacted.
The National Environmental Management Amendment Bill will do just that, and the amendments proposed will ensure that issues concerning our environment are given the attention they deserve. However, the deletion of "committee" and "forum" and replacing them with "the Minister may establish a forum or advisory committee", all by himself or herself, may be a point of concern. We are human beings and it is always wiser to work with people in committees or forums, rather than giving all the powers to the Minister to determine the committees or the forum that may assist with this job.
This is what the IFP has to say to you and the world. [Interjections.] Thank you very much.