ACCORDING to the Democratic Alliance in eThekwini, three of the 14 air quality monitors managed by the city have not been repaired since 2017.
In 2017, the DA posed questions to the council and it was revealed that three monitoring stations, in Jacobs, Grosvenor and Warwick Avenue, were not functional.
“eThekwini Municipality assured us that the monitors would be repaired in 2017, two years later, the monitors are still not working,” said DA eThekwini Environmental Planning and Climate Protection spokesman, Marlaine Nair.
A report from the South African Weather Service reveals that there has been no air quality reporting from eThekwini Municipality for years.
This means the municipality also hasn’t made any air quality data available to the public on the South African Air Quality Information System.
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“We are concerned that without the proper functioning of these devices, the city will fail in its duty to monitor ambient air quality, report statistics to residents as well as fine licensees that have exceeded the minimum levels of emissions as set out in the National Environmental Management Air Quality Act. The lack of the data also means SA Weather Services cannot detect avert possible floods and communicate warning in advance,” said Nair.
Nair continued, “The poor are most vulnerable as they don’t have the means to relocate from heavily polluted areas and face the full brunt of the harmful effects. This is completely unacceptable, the city needs to repair all damaged equipment in order for air quality to be monitored more stringently, and those found guilty of exceeding the minimum standards should be punished.”
*Neither the eThekwini Municipality or the South African Weather Service responded to comment by the time the article was published. Should comment be received, the story will be updated.
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