Chair, imagine if you will a South Africa without a reliable weather service, an unregulated Weather Service and no dependable weather warnings, where agriculture, industry and ordinary citizens have no access to accurate weather information and forecasts. How would our shipping and fishing industry cope without this vital information? Agriculture could not possibly function without accurate temperature and precipitation information enabling them to determine planting cycles. How would the airline industry function without accurate weather information?
The Minister is right, this is an important Bill. Without a dependable and precise weather service, how would we allow VIP guests to fly into Waterkloof Air Force Base? Or, how would we be able to round up the cattle and push them into the cattle kraal at Nkandla that cost us R2 million? Good quality forecasts pay off economically, not by generating large sums of money, but rather by preventing the loss of large sums of money.
Weather warnings and forecasts are important as they protect both life and property. Forecasts based on temperature and precipitation is important to agriculture and therefore to traders within the commodity markets.
A reliable and regulated service is thus essential to develop a nation. It is with this in mind that the South African Weather Service Amendment Bill is to revise the existing South African Weather Service Act of 2001, which was to establish the SA Weather Service and its operational parameters.
Section 3 of the Act is now amended to extend the mandate of the SA Weather Service to include ambient air quality information. Since the promulgation of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act in 2005, the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Weather Service developed the SA Air Quality Information System and the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network.
As you heard from the Minister, the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network is a network of government-owned ambient air quality monitoring stations that collect all the data and information which is fed into the SA Air Quality Information System. This information is then accessible to you and me or any interested parties.
A further amendment to section 3 of the Act makes the Weather Service the custodian of the SA Air Quality Information System. The advantage of the SA Air Quality Information System, Saaqis, for South Africa is that it is able to provide accurate, current, relevant and complete information for informed decision-making. Saaqis should now provide a one-stop shop for users to access air and atmospheric quality information, centralised and verified applications of the air quality act to facilitate compliance and vertical integration of the three spheres of government and flexible technological solutions for future air quality management for different stakeholders.
Therefore, the SA Weather Service now has the added responsibility of monitoring and reporting on ambient air quality. Clean air is essential to maintain the delicate balance of life on this planet, not just for us as humans, but for wildlife, vegetation, water and soil. Poor air quality is a threat and needs to be closely monitored, and corrective steps taken where necessary.
Section 4(b) of the Bill empowers the SA Weather Service to issue ambient air quality forecasts and warnings once the Minister has been informed. Subclause 7(c) of clause 4 then authorises the Minister to consult with any other relevant Minister or any stakeholder on the ambient air quality warnings. However, one would hope that this section is never used to protect those politically connected industries from being exposed and prosecuted for contravention.
The Bill has further amended section 13 of the Act to ensure that the recruitment, selection and appointment of the CEO of the SA Weather Service follows a transparent and competitive process and continues to address the removal of and disciplinary procedure regarding the CEO, including all terms and conditions pertaining to the post.
With the ever increasing reality of climate change, it is critical that the Department of Environmental Affairs and the SA Weather Service, through monitoring and information dissemination through the SA Air Quality Information System, focus on adaptation as a key strategy to address the challenges on the impact of climate change. These progressive amendments are one step closer to addressing the problem of climate change.
In closing, I must add that I was extremely touched by ...
... umdlezana wam ... [... the mother of a newborn baby ...]
... as referenced to me in the last debate, as the "last lammetjie". I wasn't sure if it was the "last lammetjie" or the "lost lammetjie". It takes me back a few years, and I thought that, on a lighter note after a very long day, I would like to dedicate the following to you:
Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep, And can't tell where to find them; Leave them alone, and they'll come home, Bringing their tails behind them.
Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep, And dreamt she heard them bleating; But when she awoke, she found it a joke, For they were all still fleeting.
The DA supports the Bill. [Applause.]