By Anish Abraham
AIR quality is a problem worldwide and Ekurhuleni is no exception. These were the words of Ekurhuleni City Manager Paul Maseko, who was speaking at the launch of the Metro's Air Quality Management (AQM) Plan on 14 September.
Attending the breakfast event, at Boksburg's Birchwood Hotel, were councillors, Metro administrators and directors, and businesspeople.
The plan, which was approved by the Metro council in May, calls for air quality management systems to be installed and for emission reduction measures to be implemented.
Ekurhuleni is the first Metro to implement such a plan.
Opening the function, Maseko gave a brief history lesson, telling the audience of the problems the Metro faced when it was formed through the amalgamation of nine towns into a single entity.
"However, today we can talk as one city," he said.
Regarding the old Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act, Maseko said it had many loopholes, was ineffective and there was a lack of transparency in decision-making.
It has since been supplemented with the National Environmental Management Air Quality Act (Act 39 of 2004), which has given local municipalities and metros more authority to deal with pollution and polluters.
The Act also empowers the minister to identify pollution hotspots that must receive focused air quality management attention.
"Benefits of implementation include emission reports by industries, information is readily available to the public, the Metro can respond to complaints more efficiently and there is a reduction in health costs for residents," Maseko added.
The environment and tourism portfolio head, Thandi Baartman, said she was extremely pleased about the launch of the AQM plan, and for the contribution made by business and industry in Ekurhuleni.
"The plan will be used to control pollution in the metro. We are determined to deal with pollution and provide a healthy environment for our residents, as called for by the South African Constitution," she said.
Baartman urged all stakeholders to move forward and strengthen their efforts to combat pollution. "Residents must not be victims of pollution and environmental degradation."
Karuna Mohan, the executive director of local economic development, gave an indication of the challenges facing the Metro in its quest for a cleaner environment, by talking about its industries.
In addition to its heavy concentration of manufacturing industries, Ekurhuleni was home to Africa's busiest airport and had several major freeways – all of which contributed to atmospheric emissions.
Another factor was the country's expanding middle class, the main drivers behind the current boom in vehicle sales – meaning more cars on the roads.
"We have to ensure we create wealth in such a manner that we leave the earth the way we found it, for the benefit of future generations," she said. "The reality we face is a result of past practices of how people interacted with the environment – poor planning and bad practices."
Mohan also spoke of how environmental management was increasing as a career opportunity, mostly required by mining companies, though she was optimistic such skills would also be required by other industries.
"We all need to take collective responsibility to improve the quality of life and have sustainable manufacturing," she concluded.
The Metro has worked closely with the Gauteng department of agriculture, conservation and environment to ensure the AQM plan is aligned with the provincial and national frameworks.
"Gauteng makes up 28 percent of the nation's fuel consumption and that puts pressure on the ambient air quality," said Dr Steven Cornelius, the head of the provincial department.
While the provincial government was responsible for evaluating the plans, it was up to local government to implement them and monitor air pollution.
His department had given Ekurhuleni two ambient air quality monitoring stations
Monitoring air quality was a huge challenge, he said, especially since there was a shortage of skilled workers in the field of air quality management, both in the government and in the private sector.
Cornelius warned that if left unchecked, the province's urban areas could experience heavy air pollution, as was found in metropolitan areas like Mexico City, Mumbai and Jakarta.
However, Thandi Radebe, the executive manager for quality control and law Enforcement, was confident the Metro could rise to the challenge. "EMM [Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality] has invested a lot of resources in training personnel," she said.
According to the AQM plan, industries in the metro have to submit their emissions reports to the department of environment and tourism no later than 7 October.
Cornelius said eventually the aim was to have a network of interconnected monitoring stations, all supplying their data to a website. In the form of graphs, data collected from the stations could be given to consumers.
Companies were also increasingly looking at maintaining a healthy environment as part of their corporate social responsibility and some countries were even awarding businesses certificates for "good behaviour" when it came to preserving the environment.
"Ultimately, there is a need for balancing economic growth with sustainable development and we congratulate Ekurhuleni on the steps [it has] taken toward ensuring a healthy environment," he said.
Source: www.ekurhuleni.com
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