Sectional Titles Schemes Management Bill [B20B-2010] & Community Schemes Ombud Services Bill [B21B-2010]: Final Mandates and Adoption; Merchant Shipping (Safe Containers Convention) Bill [B31B-2010]: consideration

Meeting report

Sectional Titles Schemes Management Bill [B20B-2010]: finalisation
All provinces supported the Bill and mandated their respective delegate to vote in favour of it.

Community Schemes Ombud Services Bill [B21B-2010]: finalisation
All provinces supported the Bill and mandated their respective delegate to vote for its adoption.

Consideration of the Merchant Shipping (Safe Containers Convention) Bill [B31B-2010]
In the opinion of the Committee, legislation was desirable to give effect to the International Convention on Safe Containers and to provide for matters connected therewith.   

Discussion
Mr H Groenewald (DA, North West) said that the Merchant Shipping Bill did not only affect the coastal cities, but also the inland cities as these containers were being transported and stacked in inland cities as well.

Mr Bernard Maphelela, Assistant Director, Department of Transport, replied that the Merchant Shipping Bill did not directly look into the domestic movement of containers, but rather it was for the purpose of implementing the Safe Containers Convention, of which South Africa was a part of. The property on which these containers were stacked was private property, and the owners of these properties had the right to house these containers.

Mr Khwezi Ngwenya, State Law Advisor, added that where these containers were stacked, municipal by-laws may come into play. This was an important question raised by Mr Groenewald but it needed to be dealt with by other laws or another department.

Ms M Themba (ANC, Mpumalanga) requested that the Department of Transport find out exactly why the Department of Trade and Industry had failed to implement the Merchant Shipping Bill, as discussed in a previous meeting. She congratulated the Department of Transport for work well done.

The meeting was adjourned.