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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.
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 2
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.
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 3
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
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Long title
None
None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 4
Preamble
None None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 1:
Definitions
Associate Professor JF Whittal (B17-2018_HB2):
- 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
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 5
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.
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 6
should be clarified.
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 2: Objects of Act None None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 3: Establishment of
Hydrographic Office
None None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 4: Function of
Hydrographic Office
Associate Professor JF Whittal (B17-2018_HB2):
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.
Associate Professor JF Whittal (B17-2018_HB2):
(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
Content issues (policy):
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 7
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 5: Appointments and
conditions of service
None None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 6: Control and
management of Hydrographic
Office
None None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
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.
Associate Professor JF Whittal (B17-2018_HB2)
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,
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 8
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”.
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 8: Submission of
hydrographic data
Associate Professor JF Whittal (B17-2018_HB2)
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:
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 9
- 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.
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 9: Survey marks None
None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 10: Archiving None None
Content issues (policy):
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 10
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 11: Copyright
None None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 12: Limitations of civil
liability
None None
Content issues (policy)
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 13: Hydropgraphic
Office Funding
None None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
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
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 11
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 15: Annual Report
None
None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 16: Regulations
None
None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations/comments
Clause 17: Transitional
Arrangements
None None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
Committee deliberations /Comments
Clause 18: Short title and
commencement
None None
Content issues (policy):
Legal issues
B17-2018_Hydrographic Bill 12
Committee deliberations /comments
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