Introduction
The South African Constitution made provision for the establishment of the third sphere of government. There are currently 283 municipalities, most of which bear an environmental function. The Constitution provides for three categories of municipalities, namely, Category A, B and C. The Local Government: Municipal Structures Act of 1998 contains the criteria fro determining when an area must have a Category A municipality (metro) and when municipalities fall into category B (local municipalities) or C (district municipality) Realising that the three types of municipalities have different environmental manage responsibilities, it is imperative to ensure that the differing responsibilities are implemented in the most integrated manner and in line with both provincial and National priorities and programmes.
During 2007 the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) in consultation with Provinces and Local Government identified the need to develop a common national sector wide strategic implementation plan for the environment sector. The main purpose of the plan was to outline high level strategic priorities for the sector over 5 years (2008-2013). The plan defines the environment sector from a “growth and development” perspective. The plan also provides an agreed strategic direction upon which strategic plans of implicated government components are based on. The Sector plan was approved for implementation by MINMEC in August 2007. The plan is currently being reviewed to coincide with the Government cycle (i.e. 2009 to 2014) and to also design an effective monitoring and evaluation tool. Local Government remains critical in this process.
The then Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG), currently reformed into the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs( DCGTA) initiated a process of analysing integrated Development Plan (IDPs) whereby all sector departments, non-governmental organizations and state owned enterprises are expected to analyse draft IDPs, identify the gaps and prepare action plans to address the identified gaps. This process has been running since 2006 and it is now supported by the 5 Year Local Government Strategic Agenda (5YLGSA) which was developed to in 2006. The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs needs to continue playing an active role in the process and the Imbizo would also explore ways in which the Department could improve its interaction with the process.
Having noted the local government challenges in implementing and planning for environmental programmes, the priorities in the Environmental sector plan, the changes in the Macro-Structure of Government as well as the current environmental priorities, and as a complement to a recently held municipal Indaba on Water, the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has identified a need to hold a municipal Indaba that will ensure dialogue between National and Local Government. The Indaba will be hosted in collaboration with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and in close cooperation with the Department of Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs This indaba presents a suitable platform to deliberate on environmental sustainability challenges and look at the possibility of improving the current local government support mechanisms to advance environmental sustainability in IDP and sustainable service delivery.
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 DOCUMENTS |
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MUNICIPAL INDABA ON ENVIRONMENT |
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2 |
CONTENT REPORT |
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