On 21 May the civil rights organisation AfriForum submitted commentary to the Northwest government about the finalisation of the Northwest Parks Board Bill.
This follows the Northwest provincial legislator opening public commentary for the amendment of this Bill. There are major concerns over the general management and the financial management of the Parks Board.
AfriForum attended the public participation process in Ikageng on 11 May 2018 and registered as an interested and affected party.
“AfriForum believes that these changes could have been made through a simpler process, with legal amendments; without having to recall the 2015 Act and replacing it with a new act. Furthermore, the process was largely presented in Tswana – this could lead to the process not necessarily being accessible for all members of the public who are not fluent in Tswana,” says Chris Boshoff, AfriForum’s Environmental Affairs Coordinator.
AfriForum’s commentary includes the following:
- AfriForum takes note that the Northwest Parks Board is not dissolved and maintains its legal status, as set out in the 2015 Act.
- AfriForum takes note that certain powers are transferred from the Executive Head to the executive board, in terms of the Director-general’s request to adhere to the Public Financial Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 van 1999).
- It is alarming that the grievances of the Auditor-general, which led to the changes to the 2015 Act, were not fully presented to the public.
- AfriForum takes note that legal certainty was created between the ‘Parks Board’ and the ‘executive board’.
AfriForum welcomes the fact that the Bill requires certain skills from the executive board members but is concerned that the opportunity exists for cadre deployment.
AfriForum will carefully study the skills and qualifications of candidates for executive board members, as nominated by the MEC, to prevent cadre deployment. AfriForum wants to ensure at all times that the environment in the Northwest is protected and managed appropriately.
SMS your name to 45354 (R1) to support this AfriForum campaign.