Section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote conservation; and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

Author Archives: mfourie

Minister Shabangu’s 2012 Budget Vote Speech for DMR: MPRDA, integrated permitting, fracking, rehabilitation and consultation with communities

By mfourie | Published: May 13, 2012

Read the full transcript of the Minister of Mineral Resources’ 2012 Budget Vote Speech delivered on 10 May 2012 in the National Assembly here. Sections directly affecting environmental rights have been highlighted in bold by the CER.

“Honourable Chairperson,
Deputy Minister Oliphant,
Honourable Fred Gona, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee,
Honourable Members,

May I begin by acknowledging the presence, in the public gallery, of 21 girl learners from disadvantaged communities. They, Honourable members, are beneficiaries of the Ministerial programme, supported by the mining industry; who are studying at various tertiary institutions.

We stand at the cusp of a new era in South Africa – one which sees, so clearly now, the resurgence of mining as a central force.

I am therefore honoured to present the budget of the department that is responsible for a sector so critical to our country’s future. The fact is that the African National Congress has placed the mineral and energy complex right at the centre of its socio economic and political agenda. This is an appropriately far-sighted step as the organisation and movement I represent marks its centenary, committed as… Continue reading...

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Minister Joemat-Pettersson’s 2012 Budget Vote Speech for DAFF: Food security, climate change, small scale fishers and patrol vessels

By mfourie | Published: May 6, 2012

Read the full transcript of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ 2012 Budget Vote Speech delivered on 3 May 2012 in the National Assembly here.

“Honourable Speaker;
Chairpersons of the Portfolio Committee and the Select Committee;
Honourable Deputy Minister;
Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of
Provinces;
MECs;
Former Agriculture Director-General, Mr Masiphula Mbongwa;
Ambassadors;
Captains of industry;
Winners of our national Female Entrepreneur Awards;
Leaders of political organisations, unions, NGOs, community organisations and faith-based Institutions;
Farmworkers, fisherfolk and community forestry organizations;
Students and leaders from our agricultural colleges and other training institutions;
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our struggle icon and the father of our nation, Nelson Mandela, once said that: “We do not want freedom without bread, nor do we want bread without freedom. We must provide for all the fundamental rights and freedoms associated with a democratic society.” This means that we can neither divorce freedom from food, nor food from freedom. I thus implore all of us to re-commit ourselves to “Working together for food security.” This is the theme of today’s budget… Continue reading...

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DA’s Gareth Morgan’s National Assembly address at the 2012 Budget Vote for the DEA

By mfourie | Published: May 3, 2012

Read the full transcript of the National Assembly address delivered by the DA’s spokesperson on Water and Environmental Affairs, Gareth Morgan MP, on 2 May 2012 at the 2012 Budget Vote for the Department of Environmental Affairs here.

“Chairperson, Honourable Minister, Honourable Members

This vote occurs less than two months away from the Rio+20 summit, which marks the 20 year anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit, and ten years since the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002. It also occurs less than six months after COP17 which was successfully hosted in Durban last year.  The world is now taking stock again of its progress towards sustainable development, and so is South Africa.

New to the agenda is the notion of the Green Economy. It is a contested term. In South Africa government’s appears to take the view that the green economy is a subcomponent of the economy. But this is a perversion if one considers a more holistic definition, that being that the economy, the whole economy, is a component of the ecosystem in which it resides. In other words we should consider the… Continue reading...

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Minister Molewa’s 2012 Budget Vote Speech for DEA: Climate change, Rio+20, Green Economy jobs, EIAs, Waste Strategy and rhino poaching

By mfourie | Published: May 2, 2012

Read the full transcript of the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs’ 2012 Budget Vote Speech delivered on 2 May 2012 in the National Assembly here.

“Honourable Chairperson of this session;

Honourable Deputy Minister, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, MP;

Honourable Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Advocate Johnny de Lange, MP;

Honourable Members of the Portfolio Committee;

Honourable Members of Parliament;

Distinguished Chairpersons and Chief Executives of Public Entities;

Distinguished guests;

Ladies and gentlemen;

Introduction

I address this august gathering after we celebrated Freedom Day last week, a day that marks a significant and historic paradigm shift in the history of our country. On that day 18 years ago, South Africans elected not only a new democratic government, but by that act of placing a ballot paper in the ballot box, they pinned their hopes on this ANC government and we should never fail them and we should also never fail the legacy of Tata Mandela.

When the gates of Victor Verster Prison flung open, releasing Tata Mandela, he took those memorable first steps that symbolised the many steps we were to take as a people in our quest to… Continue reading...

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The Centre is growing and moving

By mfourie | Published: April 25, 2012

From 2 May 2012, the Centre for Environmental Rights will be operating from new, bigger premises at 223 Lower Main Road, Observatory, Cape Town. Our phone and fax numbers will remain the same, but we expect some disruption to our telecommunications and accessibility during the moving period. Please bear with us as we pack up and move between 25 April until 2 May 2012.

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City of Cape Town v Strümpher

By mfourie | Published: April 15, 2012

Court: Supreme Court of Appeal
Case Number or Citation: (104/2011) [2012] ZASCA 54
Date of judgement: 30 March 2012
Judge/s: Mthiyane DP (Van Heerden, Bosielo, Majiedt JJA and Ndita AJA concurring)
Type of application: Appeal
Legislation considered include: Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996; National Water Act, 1998; Water Services Act, 1997; City of Cape Town Water By-law
Also known as:
Download this judgement in PDF here.

Court a quo: Western Cape High Court
Case Number or Citation:
Date of judgement:
Judge/s: Desai J and Gassner AJ sitting as court of appeal

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Lawyers for Human Rights v Rules Board for Courts of Law and Another

By mfourie | Published: April 15, 2012

Court: North Gauteng High Court
Case Number or  Citation: (78163/2009) [2012] ZAGPPHC 54
Date of judgement: 11 April 2012
Judge/s: Van der Byl AJ.
Type of application: Declarator
Legislation considered include: Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996; Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000; Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000
Also known as:
Download this judgement in PDF here.

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Media Release: Constitutional Court’s decision in Maccsand case marks end of an era

By mfourie | Published: April 12, 2012

Response to the Constitutional Court’s judgement in the case of Maccsand (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town and Others, CCT 103/11

  1. The Centre for Environmental Rights welcomes the judgement of the Constitutional Court in this case handed down today. The judgement confirms the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision that, where mining is not permitted by a zoning scheme, the holder of a mining right or permit cannot start to mine, unless and until the land is rezoned to allow mining.
  2. The Court clearly and correctly held that the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (MPRDA) – like the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA) – is intended to promote s.24 of the Constitution[1], the Constitutional right to healthy environment, and that these statutes require the Minister for Mineral Resources to consult and cooperate with environmental authorities who administer NEMA.
  3. While the Court placed great emphasis on cooperative governance between authorities with overlapping mandates, particularly in relation to environmental matters, this judgement also confirms that it is proper and appropriate for government departments and different spheres of government to approach the courts to resolve conflicts between them,

… Continue reading...

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Hot off the press: Constitutional Court hands down judgement in Maccsand case

By mfourie | Published: April 12, 2012

The Constitutional Court has just handed down judgement in the case of Maccsand (Pty) Ltd v the City of Cape Town and others. In brief, the Court has dismissed Maccsand’s appeal, and ordered the Minister of Mineral Resources to pay the City of Cape Town’s legal costs.

Download the judgement here.

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SONA 2012: A “massive infrastructure development drive”

By mfourie | Published: February 9, 2012

State of the Nation Address By His Excellency Jacob G Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa on the occasion of the Joint Sitting Of Parliament, Cape Town

9 Feb 2012

Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly,
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces;
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP;
Deputy President of the Republic, Honourable Kgalema Motlanthe;
Former Deputy President FW De Klerk,
Former Deputy President Baleka Mbete,
Honourable Chief Justice of the Republic, and all esteemed members of the Judiciary;
Honourable Chairperson of the SADC Parliamentary Forum and Speaker of the
Parliament of Zimbabwe; Mr Lovemore Moyo,
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Honourable Minister of International Relations of the Republic of Angola, Mr Rebelo Chikoti,
Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Mozambique, Mr Julio Baloi,
Distinguished Premiers and Speakers of our Provinces;
Chairperson of SALGA, and all local government leadership;
Chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders;
The Heads of Chapter 9 Institutions;
The Governor of the Reserve Bank;
Leaders of all… Continue reading...

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