Hon House Chair, hon Deputy President and colleagues in the House, I take this opportunity once again to commend the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs for finalising the SA Weather Service Amendment Bill so quickly.
On Tuesday last week, when this House debated and adopted the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Amendment Bill and the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Amendment Bill, I informed this august House that the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs had already processed seven difficult, very technical and important Bills for the environmental sector. One other Bill - that is, national environmental management number three - is still in the process of being finalised.
The overall objectives of these Bills are to ensure that environmental rights, as contained in section 24 of our Constitution, is progressively realised for our people. Today this House is debating and adopting the SA Weather Service Amendment Bill and I therefore once again commend the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs for a job well done.
The SA Weather Service Amendment Bill seeks to amend certain sections of the SA Weather Service Act of 2001. The SA Weather Service Act, Saws, as it is always called, was promulgated on 2 June 2001 and came into operation on 15 July 2001. The purpose of the Act was to establish the SA Weather Service as a juristic person and to determine its objectives, functions and method of work.