Waste Management Officers Khoro 2020

Introduction and background

The coming into effect of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008) (hereinafter referred to as the NEMWA) on 1 July 2009 brought about a significant policy shift for waste management in South Africa. This introduced the waste management hierarchy approach which advocates for waste avoidance, reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery as priority options before treatment and disposal of waste, which is the last resort. The NEMWA serves as one of the catalysts aimed at fast tracking the implementation of integrated waste management systems as envisaged by the White Paper on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management of 2000 which emphasised the management of waste throughout its life cycle.

The NEMWA makes provision for the designation of waste management officers at national, provincial and local government level, with an endeavour to coordinate waste management matters. The Waste Management Officer’s Khoro is one of the established mechanisms to coordinate the efforts of WMOs. It is a platform for all WMOs, waste management practitioners and other related officials from the three spheres of government to share experiences and discuss challenges, possible solutions and opportunities with a goal of improving waste management in the country.

The waste management officers (WMO) Khoro (conference in the Vhenda language) is an annual conference of all government institutions dealing with waste. The aim of this conference is to provide a platform for WMOs in the three spheres of government to share information and exchange thoughts in a mutually beneficial manner. It further aims to strengthen capacity and streamline the institutional framework across government entities to enhance effective waste management.

2019 Theme

The Waste Khoro 2020 is themed “The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) for South Africa’s circular waste economy”. The Waste Khoro will provide a platform for engagement and debate on what approaches will be best for the country, learning from other developed and developing economies. It will also allow for high level and technical discussions on the direction the country is taking to upscale the circular economy to better manage waste. This will ensure a continued coordination and management of resources amongst the three spheres of government in order to expedite the transformation of the waste sector.

2020 Waste Khoro event participation

Due to the plight of COVID-19. This year, Waste Khoro will only be attended by waste management officers and government representatives and will be hosted in the form of a virtual conference nationally. Waste Khoro event issues are intertwined with Clean–Up and Recycle Week SA. In line with the 2020 Waste Khoro theme: “The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) for South Africa’s circular waste economy”, Minister Creecy will host a Circular Economy Webinar on 14 September 2020. The dialogue will provide all stakeholders from government, civil society organisations, businesses, academia and other stakeholders an opportunity to deliberate on circular economy implementation in South Africa and in Africa.

The webinar will bring together government and the private sector to deliberate on South Africa’s approach to sustainable, inclusive economic growth and development in the waste sector while reducing the social and environmental impacts of waste. The dialogue is arranged as part of the SA Recycling Week activities aimed at raising awareness to consumers and businesses on environment and climate impact of waste, promoting clean and sustainable waste management practices that minimise environmental impacts by adopting and transitioning to new innovative means that assist in reduction, reuse, repurpose, recycle or upcycle of waste material.

Schedule / event programme

TIME	ITEM	RESPONSIBILITY
08:30 – 09:00	Joining on the MS Team	All
09:00 – 09:05	Opening and Welcome	Moderator
09:05 – 09:15	Introductions and apologies	Moderator
09:15 – 09:35	High Level Opening Remarks	MINISTER / DG
09:35 – 09:50	National Waste Management Strategy 2020	DEFF CWM
09:50 – 10:05	Eastern Cape Provincial Waste Officers' Report	EC
10:05 – 10:20	Free State Provincial Waste Officers' Report	FS
10:20 – 10:35	Gauteng Provincial Waste Officers' Report	GP
10:35 – 10:50	KZN Provincial Waste Officers' Report	KZN
10:50 – 11:05	Discussion	All
11:05 – 11:20	Limpopo Provincial Waste Officers' Report	LP
11:20 – 11:35	Mpumalanga Provincial Waste Officers' Report	MP
11:35 – 11:50	Northern Cape Provincial Waste Officers' Report	NC
11:50 – 12:05	North-West Provincial Waste Officers' Report	NW
12:05 – 12:20	Western Cape Provincial Waste Officers' Report	WC
12:20 – 12:35	Discussion	All
12:35 – 12:40	Comfort Break	All
12:40 – 12:45	Re-joining on the MS Team	All
12:45 – 13:00	Waste management and associated impacts at local government level	SALGA
13:00 – 13:15	Waste management and its strategic contribution during COVID-19 pandemic	DPME
13:15 – 13:30	Funding and resourcing waste management initiatives post COVID-19 pandemic	NT
13:30 – 13:45	Research Development and Innovation on technologies on waste management best practices	DSI
13:45 – 13:55	Discussion on Khoro 2020 Resolutions / Outcomes	All
13:55 - 14:00	Closure	Moderator

Media speeches and statements

Speech delivered by Minister Creecy during the 2020 Waste Management Officer’s Khoro in Pretoria

17 September 2020 - It gives me great pleasure to deliver this keynote address at this Waste Khoro 2020 event hosted as a virtual conference. This event was originally planned to be hosted in North-West Province, and I suppose following our President’s announcements last night, it will not be too long before we can once again work together face to face. As we all know, we meet today during a challenging and difficult time. As a result of the pandemic there has been minimal economic activity, jobs have been lost, industries and businesses have downsized or closed. Across the world governments are working on economic recovery strategies.

Statement by Minister Creecy during Circular Economy Webinar in celebration of SA Recycling Week

14 September 2020 - Thank you very much for inviting me today to open this circular economy dialogue. We meet during a very challenging and difficult time when the country is currently grappling with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. We all have been affected; as a result of the pandemic there has been minimal economic activity, jobs have been lost, industries and businesses have downsized or completely closed shop. Across the world governments are working on economic recovery strategies