It is a very important Bill for all of us. The SA Weather Service Act further prescribes the manner in which the weather service is to be managed and governed, including staff and financial matters. The current overall function of the Weather Service is to provide meteorological services for South Africa.
In 2004 the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, act No 39 of 2004, Nem: Aqa, was promulgated. One of the legal obligations stemming from the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act for government was to develop credible and quality information to inform air quality intervention measures or initiatives as well as to share air quality information with the general public regarding the right to safe air, which all of us have a right to.
The legal obligation that the department has is to invest in infrastructure for the purpose of creating a credible baseline of ambient air quality information. In order to meet the information requirements for good air quality governance and to ensure full compliance with the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, since the promulgation of this Act in early 2005, the Department of Environmental Affairs established the SA Air Quality Information System, Saaqis, and the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network, Naaqmn, and identified the Weather Service as a suitable custodian of the SA Air Quality Information System.
The SA Air Quality Information System is an electronic web-based information management system that has the stated objective of providing all stakeholders with easy access to all relevant information about ambient air quality in South Africa, and further provides different stakeholders with different useful online applications in order to support the effective and efficient management of ambient air quality.
The National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network collects and feeds information into the information system, and consists of networks of government-owned ambient air quality monitoring stations located around South Africa. Both the SA Air Quality Information System and the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network are already in operation. Both systems are works in progress that will continue to grow in size, scope, utility and complexity over the next few years.
To ensure the sustainability of this system as well as to provide weather services with the necessary mandate and powers to host these systems, the department and the SA Weather Service agreed that an amendment to the SA Weather Service Act is indeed desirable. In this regard, the SA Weather Service Amendment Bill provides the SA Weather Service with a legal mandate to provide ambient air quality information and to be the custodian of the SA Air Quality Information System.
The amendment will provide the SA Weather Service with the necessary function and will ensure sustainable operation and maintenance of the air quality information system. The SA Air Quality Information System and the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network will be fully institutionalised within the Weather Service of South Africa. Importantly, for the first time in 20 years of our democracy, government air quality intervention measures and/or initiatives will be based on credible and quality information.
The SA Weather Service Amendment Bill provides the Minister with legal power for policy determination as well as supervisory power over the Weather Service. The Minister will set policy parameters within which the Weather Service must exercise its functions. The amendment will allow the Minister to monitor the exercise of powers and performance of functions by the Weather Service against the policy that is determined by the Minister.
The SA Weather Service Amendment Bill empowers the SA Weather Service to issue ambient air quality forecasts and ambient air quality warnings. The ambient air quality warnings will be issued after consultation with the Minister. This is also something that is different.
The ambient air quality forecasts and warnings will be informed by the ambient air quality information that is generated from the air quality monitoring networks as well as from the system that I referred to earlier on. These powers and functions must be performed or exercised within the policy parameters that will be determined by the Minister.
The SA Weather Service Amendment Bill also strengthens the corporate governance provision in clause 7 that provides for the selection, recruitment and appointment of the chief executive officer, CEO, to follow a transparent and competitive process. I would like to thank the portfolio committee for introducing this new arrangement.
The current provision in the SA Weather Service Act does not contain a provision on the removal of the CEO from office, and therefore clause 8 in the SA Weather Service Amendment Bill inserts section 13A, which sets out details and grounds for the removal. Currently the SA Weather Service Act provides for the CEO to be the accounting officer of the Weather Service, whereas section 49(2) of the Public Financial Management Act provides that the board is the accounting authority. Therefore, clause 10 of the Bill amends this.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the committee and move that this Bill be adopted. Thank you very much. [Time expired.] [Applause.]