5.4 Compliance and Enforcement

The primary arrangements for compliance monitoring and enforcement of the Waste Act are not covered by the Waste Act, but by an amendment to the National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998 (NEMA), which came into effect on 1 May 2005. Chapter 7 of NEMA provides for Environmental Management Inspectors (EMIs) to be designated by the Minister and MECs. The Waste Act assigns specific functions to the EMIs, including the power to request waste impact reports and seek information from waste management license holders in respect of their licenses. Currently, the majority of the EMIs are located within SANParks but there are plans to boost the local contingency in line with the promulgation of the Waste Act and its compliance and enforcement requirements.

 

There has been some debate about the respective roles and responsibilities of WMOs and EMIs, and there is the potential for WMOs to play a more proactive role in seeking compliance with the provisions of the Waste Act as opposed to a more “reactive” compliance approach adopted by EMIs. This approach supports the principle that national and provincial government support municipalities in the execution of its functions. The same supportive role could be played within municipalities, with WMOs identifying and addressing capacity constraints. This role clarification needs to be further addressed in the NWMS.