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 to R16,930,129.
The report shows that the Environmental Management Inspectorate (EMI), also known as the Green Scorpions, has made headway.
There are currently 3404 EMIs designated across the country, with a 5% increase in the total number. There are 2958 national and provincial Green Scorpions and 446 at municipal level.
But challenges remain, particularly in dealing with pollution, illegal waste disposal and land degradation caused by the spread of invasive plant species progress.
The number of non-compliance cases detected per sector is:
- Biodiversity and protected areas (1042)
- Integrated coastal management/freshwater resources (284)
- Pollution, waste and EIA (2204)
Earlier this week, the department held its 10th national environmental compliance and enforcement lekgotla, which was hosted by Deputy Minister Narend Singh.
It discussed “the science of environmental compliance”, which centred on leveraging technology and innovation to enhance the inspectorate’s work, direct limited resources effectively and address the country’s most pressing environmental risks.
It also looked at how environmental compliance authorities must be innovative, focusing resources on the country’s most urgent environmental threats, due to financial constraints.
INSIDE POLITICS
