Parliament's environment committee met 9 of 11 targets, and left 14 decisions unresolved

Parliament’s portfolio committee on forestry, fisheries and environment achieved nine of its 11 planned targets in the 2025/26 financial year and held 29 meetings against a minimum goal of 20, the committee heard during its annual performance review on 22 September 2026.

The review, carried in the committee’s own broadcast, covered the past financial year and the draft plan for 2026/27. The chairperson told members that oversight and holding government institutions accountable remained the committee’s strongest area of work, and that 14 unresolved decisions from past meetings still needed attention.

Of roughly 70 resolutions taken across 39 meetings, about 73% are complete or closed, 25 are partially completed and 14 are outstanding. The outstanding items sit with a spread of bodies: the committee itself, the national Department of Agriculture, the North West provincial government, and municipalities.

The two missed targets were a planned oversight visit and a capacity-building attendance requirement. The oversight visit to the timber and forestry side could not proceed because floods blocked access to the areas the committee intended to visit, and no alternative oversight window was approved. On capacity building, the committee’s rule is that at least half of its members attend each sectoral session. Only one session, hosted by the Lion Foundation and focused on water, met that threshold. Sessions with UNICEF on the impact of climate change on children, and a parliamentary webinar preparing for COP, fell below 50%. Officials noted that only three members were approved to travel to COP, against a committee of 11.

No legislation was tabled before the committee during the year, so a law-making target was not set. Three bills are now expected late in this financial year or early next: the aquaculture development bill, the world heritage convention amendment bill and a third bill the presentation did not name in the portion carried. Officials said the department had previously indicated six bills would be tabled, and that legislation tabled in late December is typically only processed once Parliament resumes and after the tagging mechanism has run. On that timeline, the three bills would likely be processed in 2027/28.

The committee’s proposed plan for 2026/27 sets 12 targets. It includes raising the minimum number of meetings from 20 to 25, at least two joint meetings with other committees, continued oversight of the split responsibilities between national, provincial and municipal government, enforcement of environmental legislation, air quality monitoring, and securing climate funding. The projected expenditure is R2,9 million.

A proposed international study tour will not happen on the current budget. Officials said the cost of attending COP 31 is around R2 million, and a study tour is estimated at about R1,9 million, which together exceed the R2,9 million available. The presentation named Spain as the intended destination, citing its work on culture development, combating desertification, just transition, and the repurposing of mines and coal-fired power stations.

The committee’s own account of the year listed several sector outcomes it attributes to its oversight. They include better audit results across the department and its entities, the placement of the Knysna elephant herd on contraceptives and its move to a safe enclosure, the signing of a beneficiation agreement between SANParks and seven communities around Kruger National Park, rising visitor numbers at national parks, botanical gardens and zoos, and a steady drop in rhino poaching numbers.

The presentation also set out problems it says remain unresolved. State plantations carry temporary unplanted areas of around 30% against an industry standard of about 3%, and the department has moved to transfer state-owned plantations to communities while focusing on its regulatory role. The oceans economy master plan has been outstanding since 2021 or 2022. About 31% of assessed fish stocks remain a concern, down from earlier levels of 40% to 45%, with some stocks depleted and others close to collapse.

On money, officials told the committee that environmental levies generate around R110 billion, while allocation to the department is likely under R4 billion. National Treasury’s position is that the levies exist to change behaviour, while the environmental side argues they should also fund the change, including plastics and tyre recycling and carbon emission reductions. Treasury has said the department has not demonstrated an ability to apply for fundable projects, and the department is preparing a case to submit.

Financial sustainability remains a concern at two entities. The presentation said the acting CEO of South African National Parks has been in the role since 2023 without a permanent appointment, and that a CFO appointed at SANParks in 2024 took a year of sabbatical leave and later resigned, leaving an acting arrangement in place since 2024. The South African Weather Service was described as not yet financially self-reliant given its dual public and commercial mandate.

The committee also flagged a mismatch between policy and delivery at municipal level. Officials said some municipalities do not know how many waste management vehicles they have or how many are operational, and that some have applied for municipal infrastructure grants they could not use, with funds returned. The presentation linked this to slow progress on the circular economy and to climate adaptation funding, where it said many municipalities and some districts have no funded response plan. It pointed to a clause in the Climate Change Act intended to finance climate action, particularly adaptation, so that municipalities do not have to wait for a flood or drought and a state of disaster declaration before funding can be activated.

On governance, officials said the committee has noted that clean audits do not always translate into benefits felt by local communities, and that the department reports employment mainly through expanded public works programme jobs rather than tracking jobs created by sector policies in forestry, fisheries, wildlife and tourism.

The committee also recorded a recurring administrative problem. Responses from different arms of the state are generally delivered on time by the department, but changes in political leadership in the department have consistently produced late or delayed submissions. Shortened parliamentary terms, officials said, have also squeezed agenda items and left resolutions piling up.

Source: Parliament of South Africa (YouTube), Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, 22 September 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEkBzUChkZ0