Geoscience Amendment Bill: adoption

Meeting report

MINERALS AND ENERGY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
5 March 2003
GEOSCIENCE AMENDMENT BILL: ADOPTION

Chairperson: Mr M Goniwe (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Geoscience Amendment Bill (B7-2003)
Department of Minerals and Energy Briefing on Geoscience Amendment Bill (Appendix)
Draft Committee Programme 2003 (updated 4 March 2003)

SUMMARY
The Geoscience Amendment Bill (B7-2003) makes provision for property utilised by the Geological Survey Branch of the former Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs prior to the commencement of the Act on 1 November 1993 to be deemed to have been transferred to the Council for Geoscience before that date.

Having been briefed by the Department and having considered the amendments concerned at a meeting on 19 February 2003, the Committee formally adopted the Bill and agreed that it would not be necessary for its contents to be debated in the House of Assembly.

MINUTES
Adoption of minutes
Mr G Oliphant (ANC) drew the attention of the secretariat to typographical errors that appeared to have been overlooked.

Professor I Mohamed (ANC) commented that, since no more than a brief summary of proceedings had been expected, the minutes were surprisingly detailed.

The minutes of the committee meeting of 26 February 2003 were adopted without amendments.

Adoption of the Geoscience Amendment Bill
Noting that the committee had, on 19 February 2003, been briefed by the Department on proposed amendments to the Bill and had discussed points of concern, the committee chairman, Mr M Goniwe ( ANC) advised that subsequent consultations with the State Law Advisor had confirmed that a reference in Section 1 (c) to the Minister of State Expenditure had been used retrospectively and was therefore correct.

Mr N Ncgobo (ANC) queried apparent inconsistencies in the format of the amendments, to which a representative of the State Law Advisor's office repliled that, since an amendment bill quotes from the principal Act, all text quoted remains in the format of the Act concerned. The use of emboldened and underlined text applies to original text that is being removed and new text that is being proposed respectively.

The committee formally adopted the Bill and the committee report concerned.

It was agreed that it would not be necessary for the Bill to be debated by the House and that the Chairman should notify the Programming Committee accordingly.

The meeting was adjourned.

Appendix
BRIEFING BY DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS AND ENERGY ON THE GEOSCIENCE AMENDMENT BILL
1. OBJECT OF THE BILL
The object of the Bill is to effect the lawful transfer of movable and immovable property from the Department of Minerals and Energy to the Council for
Geoscience.

2. BACKGROUND AND DELIBERATION
Section 26(1) of the Geoscience Act, 1993 (Act No.100 of 1993) provides that movable and immovable property belonging to the State and which immediately prior to the commencement of Act was being utilized by the Geological Survey Branch of the Department and which the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister of State Expenditure, and where applicable, the Minister of Public Works, may designate shall on the said date of commencement devolve upon the Council without any compensation being payable in respect thereof by the Council.

The Department and the Council for Geoscience, compiled a detailed list of assets to be transferred, after which the said movable and immovable property were designated during April 1994.

The Auditor-General informed the Department that the designation of the above property should have taken place before 1 November 1993, and that the Department did therefore not comply with the provisions of section 26(1) of the Act, as no property was designated which could have devolved on the Council on the date of commencement.

The Department advised that designation of the said property could not have taken place before 1 November 1993, because the Act does not explicitly authorize the exercise of any administrative action prior to its commencement date. Such designation would in any event have been ultra vires.

In order to obtain legal certainty on this, the Chief State Law Adviser was subsequently requested to furnish the Department and the Auditor-General with a legal opinion. The Chief State Law Adviser confirmed the view of the Auditor-General that the Department did not comply with the provisions of section 26(1) of the Act, in that no property was designated which could have devolved on the Council on the date of commencement. The Department was further advised that the designation of property prior to the commencement of the Act, was legally possible, despite the fact that the Act does not specifically provide for such action prior to the commencement date.

An amendment of section 26 has therefore now become necessary to rectify the matter.

3. ORGANISATIONAL AND PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS
None
4. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
None
5. COMMUNICATION IMPLICATIONS
None.

6. CONSTITUTIONAL IMPLICATIONS
None.

7. OTHER ENTITIES CONSULTED
The Department of Finance, the Department of State Expenditure, the Council for Geoscience and the Auditor-General were consulted and are in agreement with the proposed amendment.

8. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
The State Law Advisers and the Department of Minerals and Energy are of the opinion that this Bill must be dealt with in accordance with the procedure established by section 75 of the Constitution since it contains no provision to which the procedure set out in section 74 or 76 of the Constitution applies.

9. RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that Committee agree to the Bill.