Hydrographic Act, 2019 (Act No. 35 of 2019)7. Powers and duties of Hydrographic Office |
| (1) | For the purposes of exercising any power and performing any duty imposed or conferred on him or her by this Act, the Hydrographer may, subject to subsection (2)— |
| (a) | enter at reasonable hours upon any land, seashore, enclosed place or reserve on land or ocean and internal waters within the jurisdiction of the Republic; |
| (b) | place or erect a beacon, bench mark, reference mark, temporary flag, signal or other mark upon the land, seashore, enclosed place, reserve on land or ocean and internal waters contemplated in paragraph (a); and |
| (c) | maintain the vicinity of any beacon, bench mark, reference mark, temporary flag, signal or other mark upon the land, seashore, enclosed place, reserve on land or ocean and internal waters contemplated in paragraph (a). |
| (2) | The Hydrographer must, before exercising any power or performing any duty contemplated in this section— |
| (a) | give reasonable notice of the intention to exercise the power or perform the duty to the owner or occupier of the land, enclosed place or reserve on land; |
| (b) | obtain the necessary consent from the owner or occupier of the land, enclosed place or reserve on land; |
| (c) | identify himself or herself to the owner or occupier of the land, enclosed place or reserve on land; and |
| (d) | inform the owner or occupier about the purpose of his or her visit. |
| (3) | When exercising any power or performing any duty conferred or imposed on him or her in terms of this section, the Hydrographer must minimise the damage or inconvenience caused by the exercise of that power or performance of that duty. |
| (4) | The Hydrographer may delegate his or her powers under this section to a hydrographic surveyor employed in the Hydrographic Office. |
| (5) | A delegation under subsection (4) does not prevent the exercise of the delegated powers by the Hydrographer. |