Environment Khabisi Mosunkutu at the Environment Management Inspectors
launch
10 July 2006
Members of the Ekurhuleni Mayoral Committee
Head of Department
Commissioners and Senior Officials from the various government spheres
Members of the judiciary and the South African Police Service
Representatives of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
It is a pleasure to again have an opportunity to discuss with our
stakeholders, representatives of the media included, a particular development
within my Department, the official proclamation of the Gauteng Environmental
Management Inspectors (EMIs) to be exact.
I wish to thank members of the media for making time to attend this event.
We consider the proclamation of the provincial Environmental Management
Inspectorate (EMI) as an important development in our quest to contribute
towards the building of safe, secure and sustainable communities and towards
stimulating faster economic development. Yes, we do believe that it is
important to convey a positive and firm message to the Gauteng community to the
effect that they now have a force that is exclusively dedicated towards
ensuring that no-one will, with impunity, continue to deliberately and
selfishly degrade the environment and compromise our health and well-being.
Gauteng province is the economic hub of the country. It is also endowed with
normally blue skies and warm weather. It is an ideal place to live and work in.
It is home to 3 303 plant species, 125 mammal species, 326 bird species, 25
amphibian and 53 reptile species. It falls within both the savannah and the
grassland biomes.
Sadly this pristine environment is constantly under threat. Sandy-coloured
haze incessantly blocks out the bright sun and the normally strikingly blue
African sky. Because of poisonous gases that emanate from huge industrial
chimneys, many within our communities, especially in the Vaal Triangle
Sedibeng, are now afflicted with respiratory ailments. Syndicates and
individuals plunder our plants and endangered animal species and in so doing
further threaten our ecosystem and denude our province of its rich
heritage.
With the coming into being of the EMIs, the honeymoon for these
environmental criminals is coming to an end. The EMIs are well trained and
sufficiently well motivated to deal with this criminality. They all have
received high quality training from the Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism, in collaboration with the University of Pretoria. The training that
they received is supported by environmental agencies of England, Wales and the
United States' Environmental Protection Agency, among others. They are fully
capable of exercising their search and seize power. They also are well
motivated to conduct effective and efficient roadblocks to deter environmental
crimes and lead to prosecution of suspects. They also are empowered to issue
enforceable compliance notices and do routine inspections against any
suspicious activities.
The EMIs are, indeed, disciplined and capable forces that should further
contribute towards the realisation of our quest for a better life for all. They
are a disciplined force that understands and respects human rights, the value
of life and the environment. The objective of further facilitating provincial
and national economic growth for the benefits of all our people shall also be
their motivating force.
Ladies and gentlemen, I now have the pleasure to formally present to you the
first batch of our EMI. They now have their full accreditation. I will, after
this briefing, lead them in a practical exercise aimed at stopping some
suspected environmental criminals in their tracks.
I thank you for giving us the opportunity to discuss this important
development. I now wish to invite you to pose any questions you may have on
this matter.
Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Gauteng
Provincial Government
10 July 2006
