The Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs, Ms Barbara Thomson will deliver the keynote address at the opening session of the 9th Annual Air Quality Governance Lekgotla at the Gateway Hotel in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal on Monday, 6 October 2014. During the Lekgolta, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) will table the 2014 State of the Air Report.
The Lekgotla is an annual event that is aimed at providing a forum for coordination and capacity building in air quality management. The event also provides air quality officials from all spheres of government the opportunity to share experiences, challenges and to plan for the year ahead. Through this interaction and information-sharing, the Lekgotla also strengthens cooperation and collaboration between the three spheres of government (national, provincial and local) towards improved accountability.
The Theme for this year’s Lekgotla is “A Decade of Working Together to Defend the Right to Clean Air” to mark ten years since the promulgation of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (39) of 2004, or “AQA”.
Since then, all spheres of government have been implementing several programmes in order to improve the quality of air and protect the right of all South Africans to air that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing.
The 9th Air Quality Governance Lekgotla (2014) focuses on the implementation of the AQA and accompanying national legislative framework. The Lekgotla will pinpoint the highlights and successes as well as areas that need further improvement. Focus areas for deliberations will include unpacking the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Amendment Act (20) of 2014, Atmospheric Emission Licensing (new applications, processing fee, applications for postponement of compliance time-frames, etc.); compliance monitoring and enforcement, as well as streamlining government ambient air quality monitoring initiatives.
The Air Quality Governance Lekgotla will be followed by multi-stakeholder workshops on 8 October 2014, co-hosted with the National Association for Clean Air (NACA).
The topics for the workshop, include:
- Feedback on the Atmospheric Emission License Processing Fee;
- A Cost Benefit Analysis Study in the United States of America: Some Lessons for South Africa (International Speaker); and
- Source Apportionment Studies in South Africa: Lessons for the Future.
The afternoon session also includes presentations on Sources of Air Pollutants, and Pathophysiology of Health Impacts (two international speakers).
Programme
Please click on the link to access the Lekgotla programme:
>> 9th Annual Air Quality Governance Lekgotla.
Media is invited to attend the opening session of the Lekgotla, which will be followed by a media briefing:
Date: Monday, 6 October 2014
Venue:Three Cities Gateway Hotel, Corner Centenary Boulevard & Twilight Drive, Gateway, Umhlanga, Durban
Time: 09:00 - 11:30 (Opening session)
Media briefing follows at:
Time: 11:30 – 12:00
To RSVP kindly contact:
Thembile Ngcobo
Tell: 012 3999 986/
Cell: 071 2736 102
E-mail: tngcobo@environment.gov.za
Janine Hambury
Tel: 012 3999 975
Cell: 082 643 1601
E-mail: jhambury@environment.gov.za
For media enquiries contact:
Albi Modise
Cell: 083 490 2871
