By Alicia Mmashakana
A new report shows that there has been some progress in tackling environmental crime, with an increase of 30% in inspections over the last year.
The National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report for 2023/24 says that the number of facilities inspected across various sectors increased from 4333 to 5643.
“This intensified monitoring underscores a stronger culture of accountability and environmental stewardship and indicates focused attention on reported non-compliance incident,” said Forestry, Fisheries and Environment director-general Nomfundo Tshabalala.
The report reveals that the number of criminal dockets assigned to the National Prosecuting Authority decreased from 885 in 2022/23 to 634 in 2023/24, with the total value of admission of guilt fines falling by 15%.
There were 12 sentencing and plea agreement in the last year, compared to in the previous year.
However, the total amount of fines paid under Section 24G of the Environment Act increased from R12,407,792
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