AfriForum addressed the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs in Parliament on Wednesday, to oppose the new South African Weather Services Amendment Bill of 2011.
According to Julius Kleynhans, AfriForum’s head of environmental affairs, the civil rights organisation opposes the bill for various reasons which include the threat it poses to the safety of South Africans. ‘South Africans need to take hands and protect the safety of one another through informing and helping those who might be at risk of an environmental disaster. The Hoedspruit floods are a good example where the general public and the media addressed the issue before the Weather Services took action,’ said Kleynhans.
AfriForum also opposed the bill because of the unjustifiable violation of South Africans’ rights of access to information. ‘In a democratic society everyone has the right to receive crucial information’, said Kleynhans.
The Portfolio Committee agreed with the proposals AfriForum and various organisations presented and the Bill will be redrafted accordingly. ‘It seems that the main aim is to address the issue of criminal activity or unlawfully, intentionally or negligently supplying false or misleading information, which AfriForum supports’, said Kleynhans.
The members of the Portfolio Committee also agreed with AfriForum that it was essential for other organisations and professionals to continue with their whistleblowing services and information to the public to avoid catastrophic issues.
Assurance has been given that the bill will not affect viable businesses in the weather service industry and that the Weather Services will not have a monopoly. ‘It will create space for more accurate information to regulate the lives of civil society,’ Kleynhans said.
‘The amended section on air quality should not be in the Bill and it was agreed that it would be taken out,’ Kleynhans said.
AfriForum will monitor the end result and submit further comments once the Portfolio Committee’s draft report is published.
