Air Quality 2015 Oversight Report; South African National Botanical Institute, iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority 2014/15 performance; Kirstenbosch Committee Oversight Report

Meeting report

Chairperson's Opening Comments

The Chairperson noted that the meeting was arranged for the Committee to get a sense of whether the plans and objectives outlined in the Annual Performance Plans (APPs) of the entities last year were achieved in a broad way. Whilst this might be past performance, the Committee still needed to maintain oversight especially as a benchmark against performance for the current year. Broadly, this was the objective of the meeting. When Members had a better understanding, they could conduct effective oversight. He noted the apology from the DG of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA).

SA National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) Annual Report Presentation 2014/15

Ms Carmel Mbizvo, SANBI Head of Branch: Biodiversity, began the presentation by noting some key information including that SANBI was a Schedule 3A Public entity (for public good) reporting to DEA and was the responsibility of the Minister of Environmental Affairs. The Minister and Cabinet appointed the Board, which was the accounting authority. SANBI was subject to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and other Treasury regulations including the Auditor-General. Although it was not subject to Public Service regulations it used most of the prescripts. SANBI had a staff complement of about 700, which included most of the gardens staff along with 946 Groen Sebenza Pioneers. SANBI was made up of 10 National Botanical Gardens (NBGs) with the Kwelera NBG launched in 2014 while head office was in Pretoria.

SANBI was subject to the following policy and legal frameworks:

• National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA), Act 10 of 2004
• NEMBA regulations: Threatened or Protected Species; the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (National Scientific Authority and Alien and Invasive Species)
• Obligations in the National Biodiversity Framework (NBF) – the five year plan from Cabinet approved the 20 year vision for the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP)
• Obligations in the Minister’s Delivery Agreement – Outcome 10 in the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) targets
• Delivering long term adaptation scenarios for the bio-natural resources as a designated National Implementing Entity (NIE) for the Global Adaptation Fund

In terms of reporting on the delivery of the mandate, key mandate deliverables were reflected in five year - Corporate Strategic Plan (CSP) and Annual Performance Plan (APP) and achievements were documented in the Annual Report. There were also governance protocols with DEA and the progress report on the APP was done quarterly and analysed and approved by DEA.

After looking at what SANBI did, what it influenced and its contributions to DEA’s outcomes, the programmes for the entity were listed namely,

Programme 1: Render effective and efficient corporate services

Programme 2: manage and unlock benefits of the network of NBGs as windows into SA’s biodiversity

Programme 3: provide science-based evidence to support policy and decision making relating to biodiversity, including the impacts of climate change

Programme 4: coordinate and provide access to biodiversity information and scientific information

Programme 5: provide biodiversity and climate change adaptation policy tools and advice in support of SA’s development

Programme 6: drive human capital development, education and awareness in response to SANBI’s mandate

Ms Mbizvo then took the Committee through the achievement of targets per programme. Beginning with programme one, she highlighted that 70% of qualifying staff had been placed on the scientist career path, 60% of qualifying staff were placed on the horticulturalist career path and 1% of payroll was allocated and spent for staff development. Further achievements included 60% of employment equity targets achieved, unqualified annual financial statements, completion of the annual risk assessment and reporting monitored was competed according to specified time frames. Also in the programme, 95% of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) were available under the objective relating to marketing and communication.

Under programme two, targets relating to the objectives of managing a world-class network of NBGs and revenue generating activities strengthened in all NBGs were outlined.

In terms of programme three, targets met included two inventories, comprised of (1) an inventory of animal species with 33 000 species and (2) an inventory of all SA plants updated four times per annum, one inventory of SANBI gardens biodiversity was updated with new records and information, two classification systems were completed and updated, two spatial datasets were compiled to provide information for conservation planning and one monitoring database was being updated with at least 65% coverage of SA surface area and monitoring was underway for one further taxon. Furthermore, 90 research publications were published in scientific literature, two preliminary reports on the assessment of biodiversity based ecosystem services were produced, 60% of priorities species identified by the scientific authority were assessed and 50% of species were assessment for Alien Invasive Species (AIS) regulations.  

Moving to programme four, there was a 5% increase in cumulative records assessed and a 5% cumulative increase in registered users in terms of access provided to biodiversity knowledge, data and information.

With programme five, two tools were produced to support mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecological infrastructure in production sectors and resource management. There were six knowledge resources developed and disseminated demonstrating the value of biodiversity, four learning or coordination events convened and three training sessions held for provincial, municipal or other relevant decision makers for uptake of tools. There were also 110 wetlands under rehabilitation, one report on the scientific authority submitted to the Minister and two biodiversity planning processes supported in terms of scientific advice to support national and international policy processes provided and projects for the ecosystem restoration developed and implemented. Also under this programme, submission was provided into two national policy processes and four written requests relating to core multi lateral environmental agreements were responded to within the timeframe stipulated. With direct access to climate finance modality provided to be effective in building resilience in communities vulnerable to adverse climate impacts, detailed project concepts were approved for two climate change adaptation fund direct access modalities and NIE lessons and experiences were shared for at least four international, regional and national meeting per annum.

Ms Mbizvo then discussed targets achieved for programme six, including 75% representation of designated groups in Human Capital Development (HCD) programmes, 46 000 users and beneficiaries of botanical gardens and school-based programmes for education, awareness, training and recreation increased and one platform facilitated for the civil society engagement contributing to biodiversity monitoring.

The presentation was concluded by looking at the dashboard for the targets for the four quarters where quarter four was highlighted in that:

• 48 targets were planned
• 38 targets were achieved
• 2 targets were partially achieved
• 2 targets were not achieved

Discussion

The Chairperson could see the progress made and observed that the entity was an important part of DEA. He added that the presentation prepared the Committee to engage the entity on its performance for the current financial year. 

Mr P Mabilo (ANC) welcomed the presentation but noted that it was seldom heard what the implications or adverse effects were when targets were not met. In future, he wanted such implications to be cited. He emphasised that targets should be set according to the Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Sensitive (SMART) principles. He did not think budgetary constraints, cited as reasons for some targets not being met, was plausible when cloth should be cut according to wear – why target high, knowing the budget did not fit? This came down to fore planning. He was concerned around marketing and communication strategies not reaching the rural areas. Some rural areas had free newspapers but Members seldom saw programmes in such newspapers. He knew the entity could not target all rural newspapers but asked if there were any plans to make use of such newspapers. Only the elite read the Sunday Times, Mail & Guardian etc. but the rural areas also needed to be covered.

The Chairperson highlighted that meeting and engaging with entities was not a futile exercise and the entity should be pleased that the Committee was happy with the work being done as Parliament was in the chain of reporting. 

Ms Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, highlighted the financial constraints. This was an issue raised across entities and departments and was very much unrelated to planning. It was often found toward the end of a financial year, when a mini-budget was compiled, there was a claw back of finances from Treasury. This caused shortages especially in the area where new stuff had to be filled in, and this explained why some posts were temporarily frozen. She suggested the entity and DEA meet with the Committee to go through the huge activity of the Alien Invasive Species regulations for implementation. These regulations were very involved and highly costly but it was an obligation to phase-in. This work needed to be profiled as people and communities did not really understand it but it was very important. With implications of not meeting targets, she agreed they should be cited.

The Chairperson said the Committee did not expect the Department and entities to meet every target – life did not work that way. However, the implications for non-achievement should be explained. It was clear SANBI was an entity that knew what it was doing and what their responsibilities were. He was proud of this.

Ms Mbizvo appreciated the guidance and support.    

iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority Performance Review YE March 2015

Ms Terri Castis, iSimangaliso Business Executive, took the Committee through the targets achieved by the entity programme by programme. She alerted the Committee to the fact that the CEO of iSimangaliso was awarded the WWF Living Planet award for his work at iSimangaliso this year.

The Committee congratulated the team.

Ms Castis then took the Committee through the targets met for programme one which was on conservation and park operations where the strategic objective was to ensure the world heritage values were conserved. In the programme, the target was 48 hours to detect illegal developments was linked to the outcome to ensure adherence to conservation on the operational plan. With the target, criminal processes were still very lengthy. The cases were still pending some two years later but iSimangaliso tried to get voluntary compliance from developers and if this did not work it took civil action which offered a quicker remedy. Under this outcome there was also a target for two weeks to detect poaching – the challenge was that prosecutors were not enrolling cases. iSimangaliso issued a watching brief and appointed its own layers and investigators to work with the SA Police Service (SAPS) and prosecutors to ensure convictions. It had also implemented a programme to support this. Remaining with this outcome, other indicators included the detection of developments in zones of influence and improving conviction rates. Under the implementation of programmes supporting sustainable environmental management, the target of five new environmental audits was achieved as was the target 15 000ha of rehabilitated degraded habits where the target was in fact exceeded and 17 260h were rehabilitated. In terms of game management, two white rhino and 45 blue wildebeest were introduced. There was no baseline for this target because it was dependent on what was going on in the year with the habitat, climatic conditions, existing number of animals etc. the challenge experienced was with the ability to capture and source the correct gene pool etc and drought and water provision for animals. In this instance, iSimangaliso established boreholes to pump water into watering holes. Further targets met were in relation to feasibility study in respect of St. Lucia hydrology, community-based natural resource harvesting and infrastructure development. Challenges however were experienced with the number of harvesters which had increased disproportionately with the resource - limits were introduced to manage this. Another challenge was with securing quality workmanship from contractors and one contract was suspended.  

Ms Castis then looked at programme two: transformation where the strategic objective was to optimise the empowerment in all activities of the Park in a way that will improve the livelihoods of previously disadvantaged individuals. The target was to create 1530 temporary jobs but this target was exceeded and 2049 jobs were created – the target was formulated based on the funding that had been raised from this work in any one year. The target to create 10 new permanent jobs was exceeded and 19 jobs were created. The same went for the support for Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) where the target for 50 was exceeded and 178 were supported. A challenge here was ongoing funding for this programme. iSimangaliso was drawing down on its community conservation levy as this was an important programme for permanent job creation. In terms of training, the target for 400 training programmes were exceeded and there were 1184 programmes, the target for 25 bursaries was exceeded and 47 bursaries were handed and although there was no target for interns, there were 14 interns. iSimangaliso was drawing on its community conservation levy for the bursary programme. Alternative funding for interns had not been sourced and the Park waited on the outcome from Treasury on the Groen Sebenza programme. In terms of environmental education, 40 schools were targeted for school awards programmes but this target was exceeded and 46 schools participated. The 2700 target for children in environmental awareness programmes and visiting the Park were exceeded and 5390 children were reached. Funding for this programme was secured from the Lotto and disbursements to iSimangalso were erratic and delayed.

Programme three: tourism/commercial and the strategic objective was to optimise the Park’s revenue generation in a commercially and environmental sustainable manner that fostered job creation and empowerment of historically disadvantaged communities. The outcome was increased revenue and visitor numbers to the Park. The first indicator was increased n visitor numbers where the baseline was 541 027. The target was 533 451 but 506 860 was achieved. The decrease in visitors numbers was largely a function of a shift from vehicular (recorded) to pedestrian (unrecorded) entries in Sodwana Bay. There was a policy of free pedestrian entry. There was evidence of some abuse of this benefit. New control systems were being designed to manage this and to capture and quantify pedestrian visitors. The other indicator was increased revenue and the baseline was R11m. The target was R12.4m and this was exceeded and R15.9m was achieved. The increases were largely the function of a restructuring of commercial fees and new opportunities for revenue generation were being assessed for the new financial year. For the marketing activities 24 newsflashes were targeted and 23 were achieved, the target for three events was reached, five editorials were targeted and nine were achieved, two consumer shows were targeted and one was achieved, there was no target for international delegations hosted but one was hosted and four media junkets were targeted but six were achieved. Two new licences issued for community tourism were targeted but three were achieved so this target was exceeded       

Programme four: corporate governance where the strategic objective was to ensure that iSimangaliso’s operations were properly funded and cost effectively managed while maintaining an appropriate system of internal control and reporting of accounting, management and statutory information. For the outcome maintaining appropriate staffing levels and the retention of skills, the target was 80% but 90% was achieved so this target was exceeded. This year, two staff members passed away in a motor accident on duty. The posts had been filled. In the last round of interviews it was clear that iSimangaliso was seen as an employer of choice. However, it still remained difficult to source commercial and financial skills due to location. An unqualified audit was also achieved.

Ms Castis concluded the presentation by looking at synopsis of the performance information. 

Discussion 

Ms T Stander (DA) questioned the discrepancy between the introduction of game management in quarter one but then no expenditure for this in the financial statements – was this paid in advance under the previous year? Mention was made of the difficulty of contractors – what measures were being implemented to correct this? 

Ms Castis said the target was achieved in the current year and was often a mix of donations, which explained why expense might not necessarily be affected in the quarter. Assistance was also rendered to the partner agency. With the contractor, a specific quality was outlined in the tender document but half way through the contract there was a substitution of material. In the next tender, specifications were changed slightly to allow for more robust due diligence.    

Mr Mabilo asked for an explanation of the contributory factors leading to a net loss. While he was pleased the entity was developing an interface with the judiciary, he was concerned there was no urgency when the judiciary dealt with wildlife crimes. Did the judiciary not have the appetite for these types of crimes?

Ms Castis explained the net loss was a non-cash loss but was depreciation so it did not have financial impact. In terms of the judiciary and wildlife crimes, there was some confusion around the use of KZN ordinances vs. the National Environmental Management Act and Protected Areas Act. It was also found that the police in the area were stretched and under resourced so iSimangaliso was training its own staff to do its own forensics and support the police and plug gaps where it could. 

The Chairperson understood the difficulties of determining a baseline when the indicator was budget dependent but the average could be used as a baseline. Perhaps this needed to be looked into. The baseline was important as it was what the Committee used to asses if progress was being made. He noted that questions were asked in good faith and much like SANBI, iSimangaliso seemed to know what it was doing.

Ms Castis took the point about the baselines and said a prior year would be reflected to give the Committee a sense of progress made because the entity did try to improve on numbers from the previous year to make a bigger contribution. 

Mr S Makhubele (ANC) wanted to know if the entity was achieving anything in working with the KZN Department of Economic Development for the detection of developments in the zone of influence. 

The Chairperson encouraged iSimangaliso to carry on with the good work and to convey the message to the staff. The Committee was thankful for the entities reporting to the Committee which showed there was value in state-owned entities because they added to the wellbeing of people. He again reiterated the importance of having a baseline

Draft Report of the Committee on Oversight Visit to Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, 9 June 2015

The Committee went through the report and made minor amendments to the conclusion to remove unnecessary detail. A Member was also added in the list of those present at the visit after she was not reflected as present. 

The Chairperson noted the historical importance of the botanical gardens being donated by Cecil John Rhodes as highlighted in the presentation presented to Members. It might be prudent to include this in the report as it was an historical fact that many were not aware of his including himself.

The report was adopted with minor amendments after being moved so by Mr Mabilo and seconded by Mr T Hadebe (DA).

Oversight Report of the Committee on Air Quality Management in Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga provinces, 21 – 24 July 2015

Mr Makhubele noted Members went through the report at a prior meeting and were now reviewing the report incorporating those recommendations. He would then focus on recommendations. 

The Chairperson was of the view that the report contained important information and should also be debated in the House and not just adopted.

Ms Stander disagreed with the line in the conclusion of the report that “industry is responding well in terms of compliance” – there were some instances where industry was not doing well. Turning to the recommendations for DEA, she suggested the third bullet point be changed to “DEA should craft a standardised organgram and skills for air quality management according to types and categories of municipalities”. With the recommendations for metros and municipalities, she suggested the third bullet point changed to “implement standard human resources and organogram in air quality positions” to tie in with the previous recommendation highlighted. With the recommendations for DEA, she asked that a bullet point be added to state “report on the progress of municipalities and provinces to implement air quality management plans” so that the Committee knew which provinces and municipalities had implemented the plans and which had not. She was not sure whether such a report should be submitted quarterly or biannually. The polluter pays principle was a globally adopted standard and she thought this should be an additional bullet point for DEA to investigate how this principle can be implemented. She noted the recommendations for Treasury referred to ring fencing but said that Treasury refused to ring fence even with the plastic bags and other environmental levies. The fund set up should be funded by industry and not by government to implement the polluter pays principle. She suggested there should also be a report on the functionality of the monitoring stations – it was found that some of the monitoring stations in the hot spot areas were not functional. This could be included in the report on implementation of the air quality management plans by provinces and municipalities. She thought the wording on the first bullet point of the recommendations targeting metros and municipalities should be changed to “municipalities should seriously start implementing environmental management...” She thought there should be another bullet point to the recommendations for industry to speak to externality cost assessments – this tied in with the polluter pays principle. DEA just needed to oversee these assessments or suggest it was done by an independent body.         

The Chairperson thought the suggestions were very helpful and took the report forward.

Mr Mabilo thought the Committee should not be self-defeatist by not trying to get ring fenced funding- if it was rejected by Treasury then the matter could be concluded but the Committee should not pre-empt such a decision.

Mr Makhubele said that in as much as there were industries not doing well, there were some that were and it was important the Committee encouraged them. The report should aim to strike this important balance. He was thinking about the various groupings which could read the report.  

Mr M Shelembe (IFP) was concerned about one of the points under the recommendations speaking to Parliament – he was concerned about the timing of the call to relevant provincial legislature committees and mayors given that local government elections were coming up. If such a meeting was arranged, he advised leaders of chambers of business also be invited. He felt the report singled out districts and metros without looking at local municipalities who were also polluting and so should be called as well to such a meeting.   

Mr Makhubele understood the aim was not to bring everyone in but to target certain local municipalities. Even if local municipalities were polluting what happened was that management plans were the responsibility of the districts and the districts oversaw what was happening. Districts then would coordinate and impart information from such a meeting so this was why the Committee would not call local municipalities. He also called for caution as the Committee did not oversee municipalities. The issue could also be raised in the summit.  

Ms Stander noted that no municipal legislation may be in contradiction to the national air quality management Act and therefore the Committee and DEA had a role to ensure this Act was implemented. Municipalities should do what they were instructed to do in terms implementation of national legislation.

The Chairperson highlighted these issues would be raised at the summit in September which, in terms of the timeframe, was long before the local government elections. Buy-in of implementation of the legislation was needed by districts supporting local governments. Even during this oversight visit, districts presented on behalf of local governments and districts were given the responsibility to coordinate air quality plans. Ideally, the Committee would love to have everyone in such a meeting but there was not enough capacity for that currently so the districts would be met with. There were over 200 municipalities and it was impossible to have all of them in one sitting but there were 53 districts and this number was manageable together with the metros. The Department also met annually with all municipalities on these issues so the Committee could even provide input at such a forum.

Ms Stander asked about the feasibility of making an address at MUNIMEC – was this a possibility?

The Chairperson said this was a possibility but it should be considered at a later stage to concentrate on the Committee’s own efforts first. To be open, it was also important to include industry.

Mr Makhubele raised the point that SA had three spheres of government and not three tiers so there was no hierarchy – provinces and local government were authorities on their own but there was coordination. He felt it was important to raise this as to why spheres could not dictate to each other unless there were conditions in place. There were also three branches of the state and separation of power – the powers of Parliament were confined in this regard ad it could not dictate to the Executive although there was accountability. It was important for Members to be aware of the confines of their power in terms of what could be done and what could not be done – there was a line which should not be crossed.

The Chairperson thought the Committee was on the same wave length - there were certain things which could not be forced on other spheres of government but where an observation was made with regard to national legislation, it was for the Committee to make this observation known. There must be reporting of implementation of national legislation of various levels of government through DEA and then to the Committee. DEA should also ensure compliance by industry. He also agreed with the polluter pays principle and was linked to the apportionment study so this should be worked into the report. Such a study was needed to know who was polluting and causing ill health so that they paid – this also needed to be reflected in the report.

Mr Shelembe was concerned about industries who could afford to pay and this caused a system of payment to be able to pollute.

The Chairperson highlighted the law said there would be payment of a fine or a term of imprisonment for repeat offenders. The biggest problem was that industry was no closer to being held accountable for the negative effects on public health. Legislation was mostly based on the experiences of Scandinavian countries so he suggested the recommendation speaking to the Committee visiting a country with the best air quality management practices in the world should be Norway or Sweden if other Members were in agreement.

Ms Stander thought a country with similar levels of pollution to SA should be chosen – she believed Taiwan had also led the way so perhaps a few more countries should be proposed.

Mr Makhubele suggested further research be done on this and the Committee could then take a proper decision.

Dr Scottney Watts, Committee Researcher, provided clarity and drew the Committee to the recommendations targeting Treasury – ring-fencing had been done with transfers from National Treasury to water and sanitation infrastructure in the Fourth Parliament. Transfers used to flow to municipalities without conditions attached to them but then the previous Committee in the Fourth Parliament went into negotiations with National Treasury to attach some conditionalities to the water infrastructure grants and this actually happened. The emphasis was on conditional transfers so that it was not allocated to other functions – this was the conceptualisation of ring fencing as contained in the report. With the polluter pays principle, there was a scientifically determined threshold for allowed pollution and industry could pay for the right to emit until this threshold.

The Chairperson agreed but government needed to be pushed to hold those accountable who went beyond the accepted standard and caused negative public health. It was also depressing that a culture of dip-sticking had not been developed in certain communities to assess the impact of pollution to people, the ecosystem and economy.

Ms Stander agreed that any grants given by Treasury must have conditions attached but insisting that municipalities ring fenced funds was once again overstepping boundaries of the different spheres of government. She found ring fencing problematic in that Treasury would not do it nor could municipalities be instructed to do it. In terms of the polluter pays principle, it was a globally accepted practice and more and more countries were adopting it. More research could be conducted into how it was being implemented around the globe.

The Chairperson thought there was broad agreement in that dedicated funding should come with conditions from Treasury – these conditions served as ring fencing to limit what the funding was used for. He thought the report had improved since the Committee first considered it especially with the recommendations so there was agreement. This was why the Committee deliberated reports as the input enriched the report. 

Mr Makhubele moved for the adoption of the report with amendments and this was seconded by Mr Shelembe.

The Oversight Report of the Committee on Air Quality Management in Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga provinces, 21 – 24 July 2015 was adopted with amendments.  

Draft Committee Minutes dated 4 August 2015

Draft Committee Minutes dated 4 August 2015 were adopted with no amendments.

Draft Committee Minutes dated 7 August 2015

Draft Committee Minutes dated 7 August 2015 were adopted without amendments.

The Chairperson noted that the meeting next week was unlikely to take place because of Chairpersons and Whips training but Members would be kept informed.

The meeting was adjourned.