B17-2018 Hydrographic Bill 1 - PMG

B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 1

PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS

HYDROGRAPHIC BILL (B17-2018)

Summary of written submissions (section-by-section)

1. Per the referral, the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans is required to process the Hydrographic Bill, which was

introduced on 20 June 2018. Amongst others, the Bill provides for the establishment, functions and management of the Hydrographic

Office, and seeks to regulate the manner in which hydrographic data are used and generated (submitted), as well as how this

information and the use thereof are protected. Whilst a Hydrographic Office already exists, the legislation brings this arrangement in

line with South Africa’s obligations as signatory to certain international conventions specific to the monitoring of maritime safety,

principally the (United Nations) International Maritime Organisation Convention (of 1948).

2. On 16 August 2018, the Department of Defence briefed the Committee on the main tenets and intentions of the legislation. The

Committee then made a public call for written submissions. Such a public invitation was published in leading national, regional and local

newspapers in all 11 official languages, at a total cost of R 120 790.50, from 24 August to 7 September 2018.

3. Perhaps owing to the nature of the legislation, the Committee received only two written submissions, and the two individuals was not

available to make oral presentations.


4. Given the above, the Committee will thus not hold public hearings, but will consider the written submissions received. On Wednesday,

12 September 2018, the Committee will commence its formal deliberations starting with the formal consideration of written submissions,

and formal response by the Department of Defence. This response will include feasibility and practicality of proposed amendments

arising from written submissions.

5. The Committee will then kick-start formal deliberations through debating per clause and considering any possible further amendment.

Deliberations will continue until 14 September 2018, or until such time deliberations are exhausted, and committee members are

satisfied to continue with the formal clause-by-clause deliberation on the Bill.


The table below contains the key comments and/or recommendations contained in the written submissions. The document will be updated after the deliberation sessions on on 12, 13 and 14 September 2018 to include the Committee’s initial observations, as well as any policy and legal issues identified by the Committee’s content and legal advisers .

Section/Part COMMENT RECOMMENDATION

General

Associate Professor JF Whittal (B17-2018_HB2):

The Committee should consult the Maritime Zones

Act, and Integrated Coastal Management Act

(ICMA) to ensure definitions are standardised and

aligned. Note is made that the ICMA supersedes

MZA.

None

Content issues (policy):

Legal issues

Committee deliberations/comments

Title

None

None


Legal issues


Long title

None

None


Legal issues



Preamble

None None


Legal issues


Clause 1:

Definitions


- Definitions should be amended to reflect that

navigation should not be limited to sea, but include

air, land, and sea.

Stefan van Veenendaal (B17-2018_HB1):

- Hydrographic Surveyor should be amended to: “a person who

studied and practices the science of hydrography, and who is

registered in terms of the Geomatics Profession Act 19 of

2013.”

Associate Professor JF Whittal (B17-2018_HB2:

- Hydrographic data to be amended to read: ‘description of the

physical features of the sea and adjoining coastal zone, with

reference to their use for the purpose of offshore navigation’.

- Hydrographic surveying: to be amended to read “surveying the

purpose of determining geospatial data relating to the sea,

internal waters, inland water bodies and terrain in the vicinity

and beneath these.”

- Hydrographic Surveyor to be amended and read “any person

who studied and practices the science of hydrography, and

who is registered in terms of the Geomatics Profession Act 19

of 2013 as a geomatics Professional in the category of practice

associated with registration of hydrographic surveyors”

- (additional definition, not included in original Bill): Low-tide


Low-water line proposed definition is per the

Maritime Zones Act.

Sea is defined per the National Environmental

Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act

as amended.

The reasons for defining “user” is limited to those

who buys information from or who pays for services

of the Hydrographic Office, are not clear and

elevation to be defines as “a naturally formed area of land

which is surrounded by water and which is above water at low

tide, but submerged at high tide, and situated with a distance

of not more than 12 nautical miles from the low-water line of

the mainland or of an island.

- (additional definition, not included in original Bill): Low-water to

be defined as “the mean height of low-water for a tidal cycle of

18,6 years.”

- (additional definition, not included in original Bill): Low-water

line to be defined as “the intersection of the low-water tidal

plane with the land and includes low-water line on a low-tide

elevation.

- Nautical publication and nautical chart to be amended to read

“a special purpose map or book (digital and analogue) or a

specifically compiled database from which such a map or book

is derived which is authorised by the Hydrographic Office,

designated to meet the requirements of the marine navigation

or other relevant government institution.”

- (additional definition, not included in original Bill): sea to be

defined as “all marine waters, including the high seas, all

marine waters under the jurisdiction of any state, and the bed,

subsoil and substrata beneath the waters, but does not include

estuaries.


should be clarified.


Legal issues


Clause 2: Objects of Act None None


Legal issues


Clause 3: Establishment of

Hydrographic Office

None None


Legal issues


Clause 4: Function of

Hydrographic Office


This is the duty of the Hydrographer since it is

represented on charts: it defines the limits of the

Republic and it is thus important that the

responsibility is conveyed and assumed.

Low water line should not be determined by the

Minister of Defence, and should not be confused

with Ministerial oversight.


(not included in original Bill)

Section 4 (c) to be amended to include:

- (v) to determine the position of the low-water line

- (vi) to determine the terminals of straight baselines as defines

by the Maritimes Zones Act



Legal issues


Clause 5: Appointments and

conditions of service

None None


Legal issues


Clause 6: Control and

management of Hydrographic

Office

None None


Legal issues


Clause 7: Powers and duties

of the Hydrographer

Associate Professor JF Whittal (B17-2018_HB2)

- Reference to beach in Bill is incorrect and

is not the sea –shore, but is land above the

high-water mark that is for public purpose.


Section 7 (1) (a) (b) and (c) should be amended to:

- replace the word “beach” with sea-shore,

- to add word “coastal” before reserve

- to delete the words ‘or ocean” and replace with “sea and

estuary”

Following the above, Section 7 (1) (a) (b) and (c) will read:

7(1)

(a) enter at ant reasonable hours upon any land, sea-shore,

enclosed place or coastal reserve on land, sea and estuary

within jurisdiction of the Republic.

(b) Place or erect a beacon, bench mark, reference mark,


temporary flag, signal or other mark upon the land, sea-shore,

enclosed place or coastal reserve on land, sea and estuary

contemplated in paragraph (a); and

(c) Maintain the vicinity of any beacon, bench mark, reference

mark, temporary flag, signal or other mark upon the land, sea-

shore, enclosed place, coastal reserve on land, sea and

estuary contemplated un paragraph (a)

Section 7 (2) to include the word “coastal” before the word “reserve”.


Legal issues


Clause 8: Submission of

hydrographic data


The separation of powers, and responsibilities

between the Minister of Defence (per Maritime

Zones Act), the Minister of Environmental Affairs

(per Integrated Coastal Management Act), the

Minister of Transport (per Hydrographic Bill), and

the Minister of Rural Development and Land

Reform could be clearly defined, particularly as its

related to the following:


- Surveying of the low-water line (normal

baselines)

- Determining basepoints of straight

baselines

- Determining the boundaries between

adjacent States. Departments need to

cooperate to determine the median lines

between adjacent States.)

- Surveying of the low-water mark.


Legal issues


Clause 9: Survey marks None

None


Legal issues


Clause 10: Archiving None None



Legal issues


Clause 11: Copyright

None None


Legal issues


Clause 12: Limitations of civil

liability

None None

Content issues (policy)

Legal issues


Clause 13: Hydropgraphic

Office Funding

None None


Legal issues


Clause 14: Co-operation

agreement

Stefan van Veenendaal (B17-2018_HB1):

Provision should be made for an implementation

protocol between the Departments of Defence, and

Rural Development and Land Reform. Such a

provision would assist the Hydrographer and the

Chief Director (National Geospatial Information) with

possible spatial data similarity and overlaps and to

facilitate the Hydrographer’s spatial data in the

Southern African Spatial Data Infrastructure, as

provided by the Spatial Data Infrastructure Act, 54 of

2003.

None



Legal issues


Clause 15: Annual Report

None

None


Legal issues


Clause 16: Regulations

None

None


Legal issues


Clause 17: Transitional

Arrangements

None None


Legal issues

Committee deliberations /Comments

Clause 18: Short title and

commencement

None None


Legal issues


Committee deliberations /comments

Documents

B17-2018 Hydrographic Bill 1 - PMG