Reservation of work for planners

Land surveyors are outraged about a call for comments issued by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform on the Draft Regulations for The Planning Profession Act, (ACT No. 36 of 2002). Their alarm regarding the proposed Act centres specifically on Section 4: Reservation of work exclusively for professional and technical planners, which is seen as a serious threat to the relevance and future of the land surveying profession. There is deep concern amongst land surveyors that the passing of this draft regulation will result in the marginalisation of land surveyors as property professionals and limit the practice of their craft to that of a technical profession… (more)

Target audiences, media and messages for SDI training

This article aims to report on research conducted to identify the different target audiences and corresponding SDI education and training media and messages that will contribute towards the development of the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI)… (more)

SBAS – building South Africa’s satellite navigation capacity

SANSA Space Operations, in conjunction with the SA-EU strategic partnership The Dialogue Facility, hosted an event to disseminate the results of the SATSA (SBAS Awareness and Training for South Africa) project which is drawing to a close… (more)

Land cover mapping of North West province completed

The Chief Directorate: National Geo-spatial Information (CD:NGI), a component of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, is mandated by the Land Survey Act 8 of 1997 to provide accurate, up-to-date and accessible national mapping and other geospatial information. As part of this mandate, CD:NGI has expanded its initiatives to include programmatic land use and land cover mapping and deliver relevant products at predefined intervals with consistent and defined standards… (more)

Clipping map marginalia from NGI raster map products

The Chief Directorate: National Geo-spatial Information (NGI) receives numerous enquires related to the clipping of the 1:50 000 and 1:250 000 map series product. The enquiries normally refer to the white pixels between adjacent clipped raster map sheets and the georeferencing thereof… (more)

Protecting the mine surveying profession

Much has already been said and written about the Geomatics Profession Bill which first saw the light of day in 2005. Over the years it assumed various forms but was left largely unaltered despite general opposition from the very geomatics professions it seeks to regulate. At this late stage it does not help to dwell on the process that was followed, as flawed as we believe it to have been. Our premise is that the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) has pursued the transformation of the profession of the land surveying profession without considering the other geomatics professions, and that this has led to unintended consequences… (more)

Geomatics Profession Bill: the saga continues

Reading through the submissions at the recent parliamentary public hearings into the Geomatics Profession Bill, it was evident that GISSA, SAGI, IMSSA, and PLATO had common concerns about the somewhat indifferent consultation process, the inadequate defining of the geomatics profession, and the representivity of the new geomatics council. Most parties making submissions expressed their frustration with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) saying that comments submitted on previous occasions were not acknowledged, no feedback was provided and there was no evidence of the comments having been incorporated into the Bill… (more)

Investigating automatic change detection of topographic features

Changes to the landscape are constantly occurring and it is essential for geospatial and mapping organisations that these changes are regularly detected and captured, so that map databases can be updated to reflect the current status of the landscape. The Chief Directorate of National Geospatial Information (CD:NGI), South Africa’s national mapping agency, currently relies on manual methods of detecting changes and capturing these changes. These manual methods are time consuming and labour intensive, and it is necessary to move towards more automated methods in the production process at CD:NGI… (more)

Identifying the target audiences, media and messages for SDI education and training in South Africa

The objective of the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI) is to facilitate the capture, management, maintenance, integration, distribution and use of spatial information in South Africa. To realize this objective, SASDI stakeholders have to understand the purpose and benefits of SASDI… (more)

Identifying the readiness of a spatially enabled government (SEG) through evaluating the status of an evolving spatial data infrastructure (SDI) for effective spatial planning for Free State Province

A constitutional court judgement rendered spatial planning without national guidance from 17 June 2012 in South Africa. This combined with the complexity of legislation governing land use in South Africa can only ensure ill coordinated development with unsustainability as core component… (more)

The status of GISc professionalism in South Africa

Professionalism cannot be divorced from topics such as public safety, ethics, education, and professional registration with a professional body. The aim of this paper is to discuss in brief each of these topics and the status of GISc professionalism in South Africa… (more)

A comparison of geographical information science competency requirements

Universities often provide training in geographical information science (GISc) as part of geography, surveying, town planning, environmental and computer science programmes, consequently the content, outcomes, extent and quality of training can vary significantly… (more)

International assessment criteria for the GISc profession

The aim of this article is to give an international overview of the geographical information science (GISc) workforce, the roles and expected competencies of persons working in the industry, including the importance of professionalism through certification and licensing and the adherence to a code of conduct based on ethical principles… (more)

Competencies in Geographical Information Science

Developed and developing countries have for centuries relied on information about the land, location and characteristics of people and resources to be used for sound decision making, planning and developmental purposes. Hand-produced maps were then, and until quite recently, almost the only means for managing and communicating geospatial information. Now computer technology has flourished, data have become plentiful, software has become more user-friendly, and geographical information system analytical tools capable of addressing complex questions have emerged… (more)

Feedback on OSD and GISc professional registration

As a member of PLATO Council and the PLATO Education Advisory Committee, I am encouraged with the positive feedback from respondents to the articles in the previous isue of PositionIT on Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) and GISc professional registration. It leaves me with no doubt that our profession is maturing and that the majority of persons working in the field of geomatics understand the importance of professional registration supported by an appropriate qualification… (more)

Geospatial data management within SA’s national mapping organisation

South Africa’s National Mapping Organisation, the Chief Directorate Surveys and Mapping (CDSM), was renamed the Chief Directorate National Geo-spatial Information (CDNGI) in 2009 (www.cdsm.gov.za). The CDNGI forms part of the National Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (the former Department of Land Affairs). The CDNGI provides geodetic and topographic surveying and geospatial information services in terms the Land Survey Act (Act 8 of 1997)… (more)

Frustrated wage negotiations halt new land transactions

Several critical Surveyor-General Offices have effectively ceased to function and others are on a go-slow due to the failure of protracted negotiations about wages and staff levels over the last year within the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Despite meetings between NEHAWU and the minister in late January, there had been no breakthrough at the time of going to press… (more)