Parliament, Sunday 2 October 2022 - The residents of Amathole District Municipality have welcomed the National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill and expressed their views on it during public hearings on the Bill that took place in Stutterheim’s Mlungisi Community Hall in Amahlathi Local Municipality yesterday.

Welcoming the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries which conducts public hearings in the Eastern Cape province, the Amahlathi Local Municipality’s Acting Mayor told the committee that the selection of their municipality was appropriate given the fact that their municipality is the only one in the province which is surrounded by forests hence it is named Amahlathi.

Participants who included representatives from Mbashe, Mnquma, Great Kei, Ngqushwa and Raymond Mhlaba local municipalities that are part of the district; ward councillors, traditional leaders, farmers’ associations, faith and community based organisations, expressed their appreciation of the Bill and the selection of their district to host the public hearings. They told the committee that they hoped that the Bill is going to ensure protection to their velds and forests.

The committee explained the objectives of the Bill to the participants highlighting that it seeks, fundamentally, to prevent fires that destroy velds and forests and all what is in them such as precious indigenous trees and animals that are part of indispensable sources of economy to the communities where these forests exist. The committee also told the people that the Bill seeks to ensure the empowerment of Peace Officers, traditional leaders and municipalities to curb veld and forest fires. Furthermore, the committee said the Bill calls for the formation of Fire Protection Associations.

In supporting the Bill the representatives of the emerging farmers appealed to the committee to ensure that the Bill has a clause in it on the protection of village velds as currently every land is used for residential purposes in the villages. They also called on the committee to ensure that the government provides fencing of their velds and forests and provide dams as currently their livestock struggle to get water even if there is no draught.

Participants said forests that are privately owned are highly protected in the Amathole District. They said the Bill must revive the protection of their forests that was there during the old dispensation. Furthermore, they said there were forest guards and communities took responsibility for the protection of their forests in the old dispensation. They also raised problems that included poor service delivery in their communities. The Bill was supported in Amathole District.

The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Faith Muthambi, told the people that the committee has noted participants who supported the Bill conditionally and said that was within their right to do so. She appreciated the contributions participants made to the Bill and also assured them that their input, both oral and written will be considered when the committee will be deliberating on all the inputs it received from all the provinces.

ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES, MS FAITH MUTHAMBI.

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