Madame Speaker,

This bill before us today seeks to amend a number of laws which will ultimately result in an increase in the maximum penalties for environmental offences and the increased jurisdiction of the magistrate courts.

A comparison of penalties for environmental contraventions with selected countries from around the globe revealed that while South Africa's penalty clauses for terms of imprisonment compared favourably with the other countries, our monetary fines were the lowest amongst the participating countries. This bill also aims to standardise penalties across various environmental crimes which will promote consistency.

The people who commit environmental crimes are robbing our land, and its people, of its natural treasures and in the process they are becoming extremely wealthy through the exorbitant profits that they make from their illegal gains. The fines that are currently imposed are not a deterrent for many of these rich criminals. It is obvious that harsher fines have to be imposed and the fight against environmental crimes must be intensified.

The amendments suggested in this bill will contribute to the fight against environmental crimes and to the preservation of our natural resources. I only hope that there is enough capacity within the department and the various agencies tasked with fighting these crimes to ensure that the good intentions contained within legislation are translated into reality so that we can put a stop to environmental crimes.

The IFP supports this bill.

I thank you.

Contact:
Mrs Zikalala MP
083 282 8384