Draft Agrément South Africa, 2013

The Minister of Public Works invites you to comment on the draft Agrément SA Bill, 2013.

The Bill seeks to:
▪ provide for the establishment of Agrément South Africa as a juristic person;
▪ determine its objects, powers and duties;
▪ prescribe the manner in which it is managed and governed;
▪ provide for transitional arrangements.

Comments can be emailed to Mr Amukelani Maluleke at [email protected] by no later than 16:00 on Monday, 17 February 2014

Enquiries can be directed to Mr Amukelani Maluleke on tel (012) 406 1203


Background
"The Board of Agrement South Africa was established through a delegated authority by the Minister of Public Works in 1969. The delegation to the Board of Agrement South was subsequently revised and updated in 1999 by the then Minister of Public Works, the Hon. JT Radebe, MP. The Board of Agrement South Africa is mandated to, among others, evaluate the fitness-for-purpose of non-standardised construction related products or systems for use in the construction industry, and for which a national standard does not exist. The Board of Agrement South Africa serves a national interest by being internationally acknowledged as an independent South African centre serving the building and engineering communities by providing assurance to specifiers and users through technical approvals of the fitness-for-purpose of such non-standardised construction related products or systems. A review of the performance of the Board of Agrement South Africa has revealed that its lack of legal status, as well as it reporting to two Ministries (that of Public Works and of Science and Technology), has negatively impacted on the effective discharge of its mandate. The Board of Agrement South Africa's lack of legal status has, in addition, created ongoing audit challenges regarding the classification of the financial transfers made to it, through the Department of Public Works. Due to the Board's current lack of legal status, transfers made by the Department of Public Works to Agrement South Africa, under transfers and subsidies, are being classified by the Auditor-General as irregular."