Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Edna Molewa, hon Deputy Minister Barbara Thomson, members of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs, all who are here from the environmental sector, members of the media who are present here, and ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a great pleasure to extend to all of you, on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs, a warm welcome to this annual debate on the Budget Vote of the Department of Environmental Affairs.
I rise on this occasion on behalf of the ANC in support of this budget allocation to the department. I truly consider it an honour for me to stand before this august House to make my maiden speech on the Budget Vote of the department. In so doing, it would be inappropriate of me, as the chairperson of the committee, not to start this debate by thanking all members of my portfolio committee for the integrity, thoroughness and intellectual vigour that they displayed when participating in the activities of the committee, particularly in scrutinising the budget allocation to the department for the current year.
The most reassuring thing that we as South Africans have is that, despite our political differences, we have a shared understanding of what needs to be done to protect our environment and bequeath it in a form that future generations of South Africans will be proud of. This is demonstrated by the current body of national policy and legal frameworks that the ANC has championed for the environmental sector.
It is in this context that I stand here, fully cognisant and proud that the organisation and movement that deployed me to this Parliament has always been, and still continues to be, a torchbearer, not only for political freedoms all over the world, but also for socioeconomic and environmental rights.
Throughout its inception the ANC never saw the political emancipation of the people of South Africa as divorced from the protection of the environment that they live in. This was amply demonstrated by the ANC in 1992, when the organisation released its seminal paper titled Ready to Govern: ANC Policy Guidelines for a Democratic South Africa. The guiding principles for the environmental sector in that document have since shaped and continue to define our thinking and practice, as a nation. That seminal document states:
The ANC believes that all citizens of South Africa at present and in future, have the right to a safe and healthy environment, and to a life of wellbeing.
It is this noble goal of the protection and conservation of the environment that has also found concrete expression in our Constitution, of which the ANC was a major sponsor. The Constitution states in section 24 that all South Africans have a constitutional right:
(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or wellbeing; and
(b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations ...
The ANC has also, in all its conferences, including the last conference held in Mangaung in 2012, given enough, in fact ample, time to discuss ways and means of protecting and conserving the environment, and how best South Africa could adopt a development trajectory of a green economy, as it takes measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change impact exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. This came as a clear understanding by the ANC of the terrible consequences that the continued emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere would have on various sectors of the economy, including agriculture, and the resultant devastating effect on the most vulnerable in South Africa.
We are also holding this Budget Vote debate a day before we observe Nelson Mandela International Day. Madiba was the icon of our struggle for peace in the world, but, equally, a fierce proponent of the protection and conservation of the world environment. It is therefore appropriate to recall Madiba's famous, poetic statements on the birth of our democracy when he said:
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine their efforts to solve the problems of this continent ... and I dream of the vast deserts, the forests, and all of the wilderness of our continent; wild places that we should protect as a precious heritage for our children and for our children's children. We must never forget that it is our duty to protect this environment.
So said Madiba.
Tomorrow all of us will be doing our bit to clean up our environment in honour of this wonderful human being, Madiba. I will also participate in this campaign of cleaning up our environment, as announced by President Jacob Zuma.
As we participate in cleaning up the environment we will, of course, all be wearing our boots, our overalls and our makarapa [hard hats]. [Interjections.] [Laughter.] That is because, when you do cleaning, you need this protective clothing. However, you don't when you are in Parliament! [Applause.] I hope that some members of this House will learn a bit from what Madiba taught us. We are here today, firstly, to debate whether the financial allocation to this department for this financial year, 2014-15, is justifiable.
Secondly, we are also here to debate, arising out of the report of the portfolio committee, whether the strategic plans and the annual performance plans for this year of the department and the entities that report to it are credible and implementable.
When the committee met with the department on 1 July 2014, we were fairly comfortable about undertaking this very important task, because we had already met with the department prior to that meeting to ascertain what mandate they carry and how they are taking that mandate forward.
We would again like to thank the director-general, who led the department in giving us working information on what this department is about, long before we interacted with them on their strategic plans. Thank you, director-general, and thank you to the department. The department was represented by the director-general, who led a contingent of executive managers, as well as senior leaders of the various entities reporting to the department, namely the SA National Parks, the SA Weather Service, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and the SA National Biodiversity Institute.
Chairperson, at the outset we would like to say that we fully agree with the President of the Republic of South Africa, President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, in his separating the Department of Environmental Affairs from what used to be the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs. We believe this separation will give the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, and her Deputy Minister, Barbara Thomson, ample opportunity and time to focus on environmental matters. Equally, we believe that the separation of the two areas of work will allow the incoming Minister of Water and Sanitation, the hon Minister Mokonyane, to give her undivided attention to addressing the water and sanitation needs of all South Africans.
Prior to 1994 environmental governance was an emerging discipline that was selectively applied and highly fragmented in its application. The right to a clean and healthy environment was not enshrined in a constitutional system, but was nevertheless selectively applied.
The past 20 years have seen a dramatic and sustained process of the formation of environmental guiding principles, and institution building and restructuring, coupled with legislation and policy development. In these 20 years we have also seen domestic and international engagements, as alluded to by the Minister, all with the intention of addressing the historical legacy of inequality, international isolation, and fragmented structures of environmental governance.
The first decade of our democratic state entailed a paradigm shift in the regulatory framework and consultative approach to environmental management, culminating in the adoption of the National Environmental Management Act as the framework environmental legislation. This decade also involved a repositioning of the environmental sector as a strategic economic function within government, with a substantial increase in its budgetary allocation and the development of more detailed sectoral regulations, including amendments and additions to the National Environmental Management Act.
The second decade of our democracy saw the Department of Environmental Affairs consolidating the dramatic and revolutionary changes of the first decade and focusing on building implementation capacity, as well as supporting regulatory instruments. The last years of the second decade have seen progress in environmental governance, characterised by a performance- based approach to environmental management, with a focus on monitoring achievements and refining and streamlining environmental goals in the context of enhancing the movement towards a green economy for all sectors of our economy.
We can clearly state that South Africa has come a long way in ensuring that the constitutionally enshrined right to a clean and healthy environment is realised and protected. The collaboration and co-operation of all spheres of government and civil society have been central in getting the nation working towards a green, pro-jobs, pro-development future.
South Africa is redressing the previous environmental protection imbalances by implementing pro-poor, sustainable development programmes. It is in this context that all of us as South Africans must feel proud of the achievements of the past 20 years, particularly the efforts that have been put into protecting and conserving the environment, which have always been people-centric. The achievements of the past 20 years should be able to assist us with a solid foundation as we continue with our work of further reconstruction and development in the next decade of our lives.
In its first Environmental Performance Review of South Africa, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Europe, which is normally referred to as the OECD, praises the progress made with environmental reforms in our country. It says that the progress has been remarkable. Let me quote what this organisation has said:
Environmentally related taxes generate revenues on par with many OECD countries. Subsidies for fossil fuel consumption are much lower than in many other emerging market economies. A Green Economy Accord was launched in 2011 to promote partnerships with the private sector and others to green the economy. In some areas, such as biodiversity, South Africa has developed pioneering laws and policies that are more advanced than in many OECD member countries. The human and financial resources allocated to the environment have been significantly strengthened, and an effective framework for enforcing environmental laws put in place.
Now we are not the only ones who are saying we have a good story to tell. It is also some wonderful people, who have done much research and who reside somewhere in a place called Europe. It is unfortunate that as South Africans we at times wait to hear from others before we can really pat ourselves on the back.
You will know as well as I do that in the democratic South Africa of today you cannot undertake any development of any nature unless an environmental impact assessment has been conducted - finish and klaar! Therefore, as a country we have been able to stitch into the DNA of our economic development the very necessary and important aspect of safeguarding the environment for future generations.
In the quest to take environmental governance further and implement the regulatory framework we have put in place, the department is structured so as to have the following programmes: Administration; Legal, Authorisations and Compliance; Oceans and Coasts; Climate Change and Air Quality Management; Biodiversity and Conservation; Environmental Programmes; and Chemicals and Waste Management.
Lest we all forget - and as we are just human beings, we are prone to forgetting - the department has, in the many years preceding this one, received unqualified audit reports from the Auditor-General. We are, nonetheless, aware that the annual report of the department for 2013-14 is still being audited, but we are quite confident that it will also receive a wonderful audit outcome from the Auditor-General.
Moreover, the department and its entities have in many years been able to spend over 95% of the budget allocations to the department. This fact alone convinces us that the department has the necessary human capacity and expertise to carry forward the mandate it has.
At present the department has 141 members in the senior management service, and 55 of these are women. This gives the structure of senior management in this department a 40% women's representation. That is good, but it can be better. We are also fully aware that there are 35 people with disabilities in the department, accounting for a 2,2% representation. We are therefore confident that when the department says it will be able to up women's representation to 50% in this financial year, that is credible and achievable. When it says it will be able to go up to 2,6% in relation to people with disabilities, that is achievable. It is also above the 2% that is legislated. Work well done!
The President of the Republic of South Africa - uNxamalala uMsholozi we ma! ... [Laughter.] ... J G Zuma, in his second state of the nation address this year, implored us all as South Africans, government departments and every sector of the economy, to work towards the achievement of a 5% increase in our GDP in the next five years. I am confident that this department's plans to map out the potential of our blue or ocean economy, a new sector in our economic mix, will go a long way in following the guidance by the President. This blue economy will include marine transport and manufacturing, the repair of ships and oil rigs, the building of boats and ships, and the possible offshore production of oil and gas, amongst others. It will go a long way towards making a significant contribution to an increase in our GDP.