2019 Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Lekgotla 

This year, the 08th Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Lekgotla will be held in the Northern Cape, Kimberley, from 09 – 12 September 2019. The 2019 Lekgotla will offer EMIs various courses that are aimed at keeping up to speed with the latest legislative developments; as well as to sharpen practical compliance and enforcement skills in key areas of need. It will also provide the EMIs with an opportunity to interact with the line function personnel at DEA, who are responsible for development of the legislation and/or the implementation of a permitting/licensing function. Presenters of these courses will be sources from subject matter experts in the legislation and practical compliance and enforcement techniques.

Although the execution of the compliance and the enforcement functions are closely intertwined in the proper execution of the regulatory cycle, these two functions can be distinguished in the challenges that they face; and the role-players that need to be partnered with in order to ensure the successful implementation of legislation. This gathering will focus on the identification of case studies which highlight the development, maintenance and improvement of partnerships of the National Environmental Crime Forum and the national Compliance Forum in achieving tangible results in environmental compliance and enforcement. These case studies will explore the key success factors that were instrumental in building these critical working relationships and highlight the risks where collaboration has not been optimal.    

Theme and messages 

“Facing the Future Together: The Green Scorpions”.

Environmental authorities across the world are currently experiencing challenging times given the status of the global economy. This situation is exacerbated in developing countries, where the key priorities of government focus on economic growth, job creation and infrastructure development. This requires environmental authorities to develop innovative strategies to ensure that environmental compliance and enforcement supports these priorities, while at the same time, instils an appropriate level of respect amongst the regulated community for environmental law..

In developing a cohesive response to this balancing act, environmental authorities across all spheres of government in South Africa, and including the blue, green and brown sub-sectors, need to unify to meet the challenges that they face in an uncertain and dynamic future. In this regard, the country can learn many valuable lessons from other African countries, which face similar socio-economic obstacles; and yet find ways to deliver effective compliance and enforcement services to their citizens. Thus the theme for the 08th ECEL, “Facing the Future Together: The Green Scorpions”.

Event schedule

The plenary presenters and workshop facilitators for this day will be sourced from various environmental authorities in Africa that have implemented legal, technical, strategic, operational or procedural mechanisms or techniques (in the brown, green and blue subsectors) that have been developed in response to specific challenges and have led to a measurable improvement in compliance and enforcement activities. Breakaway workshops, divided into blue, green and brown, will then explore how these strategies can be applied to the Inspectorate.

In order for the Inspectorate to gain some objective insight into the performance of the Green Scorpions, a “Panel of Stalwarts & Stakeholders” has become a regular feature on the ECEL Programme. At this plenary session, representatives from within (e.g. retired EMIs) and external to (stakeholder groups) will be invited to a critical and constructive analysis of the effectiveness of the Inspectorate.

This plenary panel discussion will be followed by breakaway sessions led by each of the panelists that will seek to develop possible solutions to the challenges that they have identified in the plenary session.      

Monday, 09 September 2019:  Strategies in environmental compliance and enforcement: an African perspective.

Challenges in environmental compliance and enforcement are faced by a variety of organisations at all levels of government, from international, regional, national, provincial and local. In order to meet these challenges, environmental authorities are required to develop creative and innovative solutions to meet the requirements of a dynamic and complex regulatory environment, including the socio-economic needs of developing countries. The plenary presenters and workshop facilitators for this day will be sourced from various environmental authorities in Africa that have implemented legal, technical, strategic, operational or procedural mechanisms or techniques (in the brown, green and blue subsectors) that have been developed in response to specific challenges and have led to a measurable improvement in compliance and enforcement activities. Breakaway workshops, divided into blue, green and brown, will then explore how these strategies can be applied to the Inspectorate.

Tuesday, 10 September 2019:  Building from the ground up: capacity-building for the inspectorate.

With the development of a Climate Change Bill on the horizon, together with the ongoing amendment of NEMA and the SEMAS; and the proliferation of subordinate legislation promulgated, the complexity and dynamic nature of the legislative mandate for EMIs to assess compliance and enforce is only set to continue. This, together with the increasingly organized and complex nature of environmental crime, means that capacity development of Inspectorate members is an ongoing need in order to keep their knowledge and skills maintained at a level that they are able to properly execute their Constitutional mandate. This day will offer EMIs various courses that are aimed at keeping EMIs up to speed with the latest legislative developments; as well as sharpen their practical compliance and enforcement skills in key areas of need. It will also provide the EMIs with an opportunity to interact with the line function personnel at DEA, who are responsible for development of the legislation and/or the implementation of a permitting/licensing function. Presenters of these courses will be sources from subject matter experts in the legislation and practical compliance and enforcement techniques.

Wednesday, 11 September 2019: Assessing the performance of the inspectorate:  EMI stalwarts and stakeholders.       

Evening of the 12th of September 2019: Networking session.

The aim of this session is a full participatory event where delegates are encouraged to reinforce the EMI network by facilitating communication amongst EMIs from the blue, green and brown sub-sectors; and across national, provincial and local spheres of government.. 

An opening address usually takes place which serves to lay the platform for the acknowledgment and recognition of EMIs who has gone beyond the call of duty.  The focus of this session is generally the unseen support for the work that gets done at the coal face by EMIs from higher levels within the government.   This has become one of the highlights of the EMI Lekgotla over the last few years as it provides EMIs with a strategic perspective from an executive governmental level.  An executive member within government will be invited to fulfill this role.