Evaluating the monitoring and review of the integrated waste management plans (IWMPs) of the Drakenstein Local Municipality

Abstract

Integrated waste management planning is essential for designing or improving a waste management system. It allows municipalities to evaluate current waste management practices; and consider waste management options that suit their desired end state, budget, and demographics. The need to develop and implement an integrated waste management plan (IWMP) is a legislative requirement provided for by Section 12 of the National Environmental Management Waste Act (59 of 2008) (NEMWA). In essence, an IWMP is a 5-year plan that provides for a municipality's waste management planning needs. It is implemented through an implementation plan, which needs to be incorporated into the municipality's integrated development plan (IDP) as a sector plan. The monitoring and review phase is one of the essential steps that municipalities must undertake to evaluate how the IWMP is performing. The process must be done yearly and at the end of the five years of implementation period. Monitoring through annual reports determines if the identified projects and the set targets are achieved, and it informs the review process as to whether targets must be adjusted or not. This research aimed to critically evaluate the monitoring and review phase of the IWMP process, using the Drakenstein Local Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa as a case study. A mixed-methods approach was applied to address the research aim, document review and self-administered questionnaire were used to gather data. The Lee & Colley review package (traditionally applied for Environmental Impact Assessment report quality) was applied for the document review to determine the suitability and adequacy of the IWMP monitoring and review process. Self-administered questionnaires, distributed to five participants were used to determine the barriers and challenges experienced during IWMP monitoring and review. The document evaluation revealed gaps in the IWMP implementation plans, which is the primary driver of IWMP implementation. The implementation plan lacked the necessary details to monitor and review the IWMP. Although the IDP and SDBIP contained waste management projects, most of the projects could not be traced back to the IWMP. Subsequently, annual reporting had little impact on the IWMP performance. The self-administered questionnaire revealed that though reporting is done according to Section 46 of the Municipal Systems Act, it does not meet the requirements of Section 13 of NEMWA. Insufficient budget and human resource capacity were identified as barriers to reporting, monitoring and reviewing the IWMP. From the document assessment, it is evident that the reporting, monitoring and review of the IWMP are linked to the quality of the IWMP implementation plan. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that the implementation plan is developed as stipulated in DEA's guidelines for developing IWMPs.