7. Approach to development of NWMS

7.1
The development of the NWMS will be structured around four phases and prepared in a consultative manner as envisaged in the Waste Act, Part 1 Section 6(6), whereby the Minister is obliged to follow a consultative process, which provides for public participation, as well as consultation with relevant national Ministers and provinces.

7.2
The following diagram presents the approach to the development of the NWMS in terms of the timeframes, key activities and milestones for each of the four phases:

7.3
The NWMS will depend for its effectiveness on the support and buy-in from a wide range of stakeholders, and the process of drafting the strategy needs to be based as far as possible on a consensual approach. At the same time, the Department recognises that stakeholders may become fatigued as a result of the past and planned multiple consultation exercises in relation to different aspects of waste policy and legislation.

7.4
The Department has thus sought to streamline stakeholder involvement and a consultation plan has been approved by the Department, the main features of which are:

• Stakeholder representation on a Project Steering Committee to oversee the development of the NWMS
• Stakeholder workshops on key themes and at critical moments in the process
• Structured meetings and interviews with stakeholders and interested and affected parties (IAPs)
• An online consultative process that:
  - Complements and reinforces face-to-face meetings with stakeholders and IAPs;
  - Provides for general public participation in the consultative process; and
  - Provides a database of stakeholders and IAPs.