Cape Town - After more than a year of silence on the issue of the appointment of an environmental commissioner for the province, the EFF has finally jumped off the fence and joined the rest of the opposition in pushing for the urgent appointment of one in line with the Western Cape constitution.
Deputy chairperson Nosipho Makamba-Botya came out in support after Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said there was no longer any need for an environmental commissioner.
Bredell said that all relevant national environmental legislation taken together with the finalisation of the Western Cape Biodiversity Act meant the issue could be put to bed.
Bredell said: “Our argument remains that such a commissioner would be an expensive duplication of functions already catered for in current national legislation.”
Makamba-Botya said Bredell was more concerned about the budget than the positive side of what an environmental commissioner could achieve in the province.
She said the National Environmental Management Act does not cater for or respond to the same issues that the provincial environmental commissioner would.
“The provisions in the national act lack teeth and adequate investigative capacity when it comes to complaints involving the environment and the so-called advisory committees do not provide adequate investigative capacity at all.”
She said the people of Western Cape deserved access to an independent authority that would investigate environmental complaints as a matter of urgency and with a clear focus as prescribed in the provincial constitution.
Earlier, presenting his department’s annual report to the standing committee on environmental affairs, Bredell had crossed swords on the issue with committee member Pat Marran (ANC) who had asked him how far the department was with appointing a commissioner.
Bredell said he agreed that a “stronger arm” was needed to deal with environmental issues but in his personal opinion it would not be an environmental commissioner.
Marran took issue with the response and asked whether the MEC and the premier’s personal views on the issue were the reason there had been no movement on the appointment.
GOOD Party MPL Shaun August said the conversation around the establishment of the commission needed to be expedited.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za