The Civil Engineering Contractor February 2019 | Page 30

INSIGHT
PROFILE
Troy Govender, council member of
the South African Council for Natural
Scientific Professions (SACNASP),
congratulated EAPASA on achieving a
major milestone, noting that EAPs had
a duty to ensure the environment is
protected and that the credibility of
the environmental assessment process
and of practitioners themselves was not
brought into question. “This can only
be realised if practitioners are part of a
regulated body with a Code of Conduct
to protect all stakeholders. The need
for such a professional body has been
evident for a long time — since EAPs
were first regulated in the mid-1990s.
“All those working in the
environmental space will soon be
registered members, creating many
new work opportunities. Given
the current spate of commissions
of enquiry into a range of issues in
South Africa (for example, the Zondo
Enquiry) there’s a dire need for ethical
behaviour across many professions.
SACNASP urges all practitioners in the
environmental sector to register with
EAPASA at their earliest convenience,
and at least within the minimum period
of two years,” says Govender.
Snowy Makhudu, chairperson of the
EAPASA Board, says that what the new
registration system would accomplish
above all else was transformation, and
the “upskilling of young blood and
economic growth of the sector”.
“Quality assurance and ethical
conduct are other goals of the
organisation — there has been
malpractice and we intend to root it
out,” says Makhudu.
It was noted that the officials in the
National and Provincial Environmental
Departments would also have to be
registered with EAPASA, and given
the qualifications and experience
requirements, questions were asked
from the audience as to whether the
two-year deadline was not “very tight”.
These officials are the people who
scrutinise the reports and draft the
environmental authorisations and, as
Hex points out, they consequently
need to be registered.
Anyone working in the space of
natural science would already need
28 | CEC February 2019
Transforming the sector
Jacqui Hex, Jones & Wagener technical director and environmental specialist, as well as
EAPASA board member and public relations chairperson.
to be registered with SACNASP as a
professionally registered scientist (Pr.
Sci.Nat). Hex clarified: “If you want to
operate as an EAP in a position of primary
responsibility for preparing or reviewing
impact assessments, you are required
to register with EAPASA. Whereas if
you are an environmental specialist
responsible for undertaking specialist
studies such as geohydrological and
ecological assessments, you are typically
registered with SACNASP, although this
is not a requirement of section 24H.”
There are two types of registrations:
candidate EAP or registered EAP.
To be a registered EAP requires a
minimum of three years’ experience
in the industry undertaking EIAs and
the submission of three EIA reports
where the applicant has held primary
responsibility. In addition, the applicant
must demonstrate that they have met
the six core competencies as outlined on
EAPASA’s website (www.eapasa.org).
Applicants are required to prepare
their own applications and sign to
the effect that all the information
submitted is correct. A registrar checks
that an application is complete, and it is
then directed to two trained assessors
who will assess the application. The
assessors’ report is tabled to the
Registration Committee and thereafter,
a decision will be given within 120 days
after payment of the registration fee.
A study was performed by the
CSIR on the number of applications
that will potentially be submitted
to EAPASA. This information was
used by the organisation to allocate
resources to ensure that they can
manage the number of applications
envisaged and to train additional
assessors where required.
Qualification requirements
Over time, university programmes will
have to become accredited in terms
of section 24H. Sibusisiwe Hlela,
board member of EAPASA, says: “At
present, none of us have the prescribed
qualification because it doesn’t exist.
Assessments will therefore look at
what qualifications you have, as all
applications will be assessed using
recognition of prior learning principles,
which accepts knowledge and skills
gained from other qualifications and
work experience.
“The
EAPASA
Applicant
Guideline Document, available
on the official website, spells out
the criteria for demonstrating that
you have mastered the prescribed
core competencies. As a minimum
you have to prove three years’
experience and three EIAs, and
your portfolio of evidence has to
demonstrate your ability to perform
the six core competencies. If you
have no experience, you apply to
become a candidate EAP. The need
for registering as an EAP is that in
future, it will be a requirement to get
a job in a position of responsibility
for preparing or reviewing EIAs, so
even unemployed people or students
should register if they seek a career
as an EAP,” says Hlela.
“The member then has to sign the
Code of Conduct,” adds Makhudu.
“In terms of the Code of Ethical
Conduct and Practice, an EAP, when
signing off an EIA, would need to
ensure that every aspect is carefully
considered, or it could be considered
misconduct and there may be
disciplinary recourse against him/
her,” Hlela says. nn
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