Committee Report on hearings on Department Annual Report; Committee business plan, budgt & programme: adoption

Meeting report

ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
16 November 2004
COMMITTEE REPORT ON HEARINGS ON DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORT; COMMITTEE BUSINESS PLAN, BUDGET AND PROGRAMME: ADOPTION

Acting Chairperson: Mr D Olifant (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Committee report on public hearings on Department Annual Report
Committee Business Plan 2004/07
Committee Budget 2005/06
Committee Draft Programme 2005/06

SUMMARY
Members unanimously voted to adopt the Committee report on the public hearings on the Department Annual Report. They agreed that the Committee Business Plan and Programme were not cast in stone and that changes could still be made within the framework of the Budget.

MINUTES
Mr Olifant (ANC), acting as Chairperson on behalf of Ms Thabethe, asked for the acceptance of the Committee report on the public hearings on the Department Annual Report. Mr J Combrinck (ANC) supported the motion and Ms C Johnson (NNP) seconded it, and then the Committee unanimoulsy voted to adopt their report in full.

Mr Olifant mentioned a few changes in the Committee Business Plan, where visits intended for 2004 had been postponed until 2005.

Mr L Greyling (ID) asked whether the Business Plan could be changed. Mr Olifant said that it was a guideline, but was open to amendment.

Mr K Durr (ACDP) said that the intended visit to the UK to study air quality standards was ill-considered since Britain did not have a good track record in this respect. He said Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark were much more advanced technologically and better organised. The Committee should rather study models in the countries that were leaders in maintaining air quality.

Mr Olifant said that the study group could also look at what was being done in Eastern Europe and that these plans could be changed. He asked for acceptance of the Business Plan and Mr M Moss (ANC) supported the motion and Mr Combrinck seconded it. Mr Olifant said the budget could not be increased, but changes could still be made within the framework of the budget as projected for the next two years. Mr A Mokoena (ANC) accepted and Ms Johnson supported the acceptance of the Budget 2005/06. The Programme was just an abbreviated version of the Business Plan.

Mr Greyling asked how the additions could be made to the Programme. Mr Olifant said that any suggestions could be considered now or in the future. Mr S Maja (ANC) supported and Ms J Chalmers seconded the acceptance of the Programme. The Committee adopted the Programme.

Mr Greyling asked whether additions to the agenda should be forwarded to the chairperson, since one obvious omission was the public hearing on nuclear issues. Mr Olifant said that additions could still be made. until 25 November. The agenda should not only be driven by the Secretariat.

Ms Chalmers said that since Russia had signed the Kyoto Protocol, it was important that the implications of this to South Africa be studied. She asked that the Committee be briefed on this in depth. Mr Greyling and Mr Olifant agreed.

The meeting was adjourned.