5.1 Roles and Responsibilities

An important issue for the implementation of the Waste Act and the NWMS is role clarification and the separation of roles. This is important to ensure that there is no role confusion, and that each role is adequately fulfilled by each role player. In the process of compiling the NWMS three distinct roles have been identified, namely policy-making regulation, and service delivery roles. The different spheres of government are responsible for varying combinations of these roles. The research has raised concerns regarding the potential blurring of these roles, and has put forward proposals for the regulatory role, which includes compliance monitoring and enforcement, to retain as much independence as possible. This is particularly important in instances in which the same government department or agency is directly responsible for delivery of waste management services which need to be regulated as part of the overall waste management sector. The application of norms and standards, and the regulation of waste management activities, needs to be applied across both public and private sector providers equitably. Without clear role separation, it will not be possible to ensure unfettered and meaningful regulation of waste management activities, and the successful implementation of the Waste Act is likely to be heavily compromised.

In addition to those three distinct roles, there are issues relating to the vertical division of roles and responsibilities between spheres of government, and the horizontal division of roles and responsibilities between different government departments and agencies. These will be considered in further detail below.

5.1.1 Vertical Division of Responsibilities

Informed by Constitutional provisions on intergovernmental roles and powers, the Waste Act assigns clear responsibilities to each sphere of government in relation to waste management activities.

Local government is responsible for the provision of waste management services, which includes waste removal, waste storage and waste disposal services, as per Schedule 5b of the Constitution. Municipalities are obliged to designate a waste management officer from their administration to co-ordinate matters pertaining to waste management. They must also submit an integrated waste management (IWMP) plan to the MEC for approval. The IWMP needs to be integrated into municipal integrated development plans (IDP), and the municipal annual performance report must include information on the implementation of the IWMP. At their discretion, municipalities may set local waste service standards for waste separation, compacting of waste, management and disposal of solid waste, amongst others. Local standards must be aligned with any provincial and national norms and standards where these exist. Municipalities may also require transporters of waste to register on a listing of waste transporters.

Provincial government is obliged to promote and ensure the implementation of the NWMS and national norms and standards. Similarly to local government, it must designate a provincial waste management officer responsible for co-ordinating matters pertaining to waste management in the province. It must also prepare an IWMP and prepare an annual performance report on its implementation, both of which must be submitted to the Minister for approval. The provincial government is also deemed the primary licensing authority for waste activities, including all activities for which the Minister is not deemed the licensing authority. Provinces have a number of discretionary powers, some of which may only be exercised in consultation with the Minister. These powers include the setting of provincial norms and standards; declaring a priority waste; listing waste management activities deemed detrimental for the province’s environment; registering waste transporters; requesting the preparation of an industry waste management plans; identification of contaminated land; and establishing a provincial waste information system.

National government and in particular the DEA is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the Waste Act is implemented and that the various provisions are harnessed in the most appropriate and effective ways. The Waste Act specifies various mandatory and discretionary provisions that DEA is required to address. In terms of mandatory provisions, the DEA is responsible for establishing the national waste management strategy and setting national norms and standards, which must be implemented by all spheres of government. As is with provincial and local government, the Minister must designate a waste management officer from the DEA administration to co-ordinate matters pertaining to waste management. DEA must prepare an integrated waste management plan, similar to its provincial and local counterparts, and submit an annual performance report to the Minister on its implementation. It must establish and maintain a national contaminated land register as well as a national waste information system. Finally, the Minister is the licensing authority in respect to hazardous waste, international obligations, activities performed by a provincial environmental authority or statutory body other than a municipality, or an activity that takes place in more than one authority or transverses international boundaries.

DEA has numerous discretionary responsibilities that it may invoke if required. These include national norms and standards for waste minimisation, re-use, recycling and waste recovery and tariffs for waste standards, amongst others. The declaration of priority waste is a discretionary element as is the identification of products for the application of extended producer responsibility. The DEA may also publish a list of waste management activities that it considers detrimental for the environment, and request the preparation of industry waste management plans. As with its provincial and local counterparts, it may require the registration of transporters of waste. Lastly, the DEA may identify land that may be contaminated for investigation.

The above summary provides an overview of the main responsibilities directly required and provided for in the Waste Act. It is evident that the allocated roles and responsibilities need to be seen as elements within an integrated system, with a cascading of roles according to the level at which they are most logically performed. The NWMS will set out a framework for aligning and integrating the responsibilities of the different spheres of government, and addressing potential overlapping areas.

The Waste Act also makes provision for institutional arrangements for the coordinated implementation of its provisions. In order to properly coordinate implementation, the NWMS needs to consider the practicalities of the different roles and how each of these will manifest at a local, provincial and national sphere of government. The NWMS will give consideration to how the integrated system of WMOs can be best positioned to perform this integrated coordination function.

5.1.2 Horizontal Assignment of Responsibilties

In considering the horizontal assignment of roles, it is important to understand how the provisions of the Waste Act interface with and build on the regulatory provisions of other pieces of related legislation. This policy harmonisation exercise also needs to draw on the Inter-governmental Relations Framework.

Department of Trade and Industry: The DTI has a crucial role to play in relation to the overall system of industry regulation, and the utilisation of various mechanisms and capacities within DTI for implementing the Waste Act. The implementation of the system of norms and standards will require the support of the Technical Infrastructure under DTI, as described in Section 3.1. Utilisation of this system will enable the determination of standards for products and services, and ensure their measurement and certification within a broader South African standards context. In order to achieve this, the waste management sector will need to be identified as a lead sector by the DTI.

Other issues that require the involvement of the DTI include the declaration of priority wastes and EPR schemes; the implications of the Consumer Protection Act; recycling schemes and the implications for competition policy.

National Treasury: National Treasury has a crucial role to play in managing the overall system of taxation, and in implementing taxation measures that can support implementation of the NWMS. National Treasury must also be consulted where the economic implications of measures with respect to a priority waste are potentially significant. National Treasury plays an important role in determining budget allocations for waste management functions at national level, and in addressing the fiscal mechanisms required for implementation of waste services and accessing of grants.

South African Revenue Services: In terms of the prohibition and restrictions on the import, export and selling of priority wastes, it is important that the alignment of priority wastes with the product codes maintained by SARS in the Schedules to the Customs and Excise Acts takes place.

Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs: National and provincial government must provide support to municipalities with respect to their executive responsibilities, including delivery of services. This support needs to be co-ordinated with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. The Department also has an important role to play in ensuring that the Municipal Infrastructure Grant can be accessed for the development and upgrading of municipal landfill sites, many of which are not compliant or licensed.

There are a number of government departments with important additional functions, including:

The Department of International Relations must lead South Africa’s engagement in multilateral forums that address sustainable development and waste management issues.
The Department of Minerals plays a key role in regulating the mining sector, and addressing waste management issues where these fall outside the ambit of the Waste Act.
The Department of Health has an important role to play in addressing health care risk waste, and in advising DEA and provincial departments on the appropriate standards and measures to be applied to the sector.
The Department of Water Affairs is crucially concerned with water quality issues, and the measures required to minimise and mitigate the effects of groundwater contamination.

The role of these and other departments in implementing the NWMS needs to be set out in more detail in the NWMS.