Keynote address by the Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs, Honourable Barbara Thomson on the occasion of the opening of the 10th Annual Air Quality Governance Lekgotla at the President Hotel, Bloemfontein, Free State
Programme Director,
Councilors Present,
Head of Department, Mr. Mogokari Richard Seleke; Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Environment and Conservation,
Deputy Director-General, Mr. Tshepo Moremi: Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Environment and Conservation,
Deputy Director-General: Climate Change and Air Quality, Ms. Judy Beaumont,
National Air Quality Officer, Dr Thuli Mdluli,
Air Quality Officials,
Distinguished Guests,
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Department of Environmental Affairs, I would like to thank the government of the Free State Province for hosting this - the 10th Annual Air Quality Governance Lekgotla - and thank you all for attending this prestigious event of air quality officials.
We also note that the interest and attendance to the Lekgotla has strengthen from year to year and with around 350 officials from National, Provincial and Municipalities having attended the 2014 Lekgotla.
We have come a long way in a relatively short period of time and this can be attributed to hard work and collaborations. We have seen collaborations between all three spheres of government, as well as with key stakeholders, the local scientific community and international colleagues and partners.
South Africa has been able to build on the experience of other countries, and define and adopt a set of air quality management tools that provide unique solutions to our unique circumstances.
When the African National Congress came into power in 1994, one of the key driving objectives of the new ruling party was the restoration of our people’s dignity after years of oppressive laws that did not recognise the majority of our people as citizens with a right to a clean environment.
Therefore your work is integral to ensuring that the restoration of our people’s dignity project is implemented by all spheres of government.
This Legotla is taking place in the month of September as South Africans from all walks of life commemorate both heritage and tourism month. It is incumbent upon all of us to protect the air quality as part of our heritage for the benefit of the present and future generations.
It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be part of this important gathering and must confirm that being part of this raises my appreciation of the work of the fraternity, we would all agree that more still needs to be done.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are proud of the strides we have made since the promulgation of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (39) of 2004 (AQA). This includes the development, by government, on several regulatory tools and interventions to manage air quality.
The need to improve service delivery has led to the development of web-based systems and tools which are meant to improve transparent governance as well. This is indeed service delivery at its best. It may not be roads or schools.
It is for that reason this the theme for the 2015 Air Quality Governance Lekgotla is “Launching air quality management systems for transparent governance and improved service delivery”. I guess the system will assist us to work in a much more efficient and in a much more uniformed way.
The Lekgotla will focus on, amongst others, the development and implementation of Air Quality Management Plans, and the Ambient Air Quality Monitoring programmes.
On Wednesday, the Lekgotla will be followed by a multi-stakeholder Workshop where the Department of Environmental Affairs will be launching the South African Atmospheric Emission Licensing and Inventory Portal (SAAELIP).
Unfortunately I will not be able to be in attendance owing to other international commitments. However, it is my hope that the launch will be a great one and that the health of our people will be uppermost in our minds and thoughts when we launch it. The subject we are about is very important. It is about the health of our people at the end of the day.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this new instrument that will be launched in addition to the existing 102 government-owned monitoring stations.
While monitoring stations report to the South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS), the members of the public are able to see for themselves how the quality of the air is in the areas where they live.
Now while this is possible, do we have direct programmes that link us direct?
I also would like to acknowledge and applaud the work of the South African Weather Service in managing and hosting the SAAQIS. This is very important as it answers directly to the call for transparency in our democracy.
Let us at all times remember that one of government’s key priorities is the building of a healthy South Africa. Health Department is one of our primary stakeholders and all relevant departments should make commitments towards the solution.
The African National Congress government introduced a very different approach to air quality management in that all air quality management interventions are aimed at achieving the same desired objective in the Constitution, namely, ambient air quality that is not harmful to health and well-being. Air Quality Officers should at all-time remember that this is a constitutional matter.
Air quality is about health, and quality of life we continue to lead as South Africans. The people that are exposed to the smog, are almost always the people that cannot afford to pay the doctors’ bills for bronchitis, asthma or worse, lung cancer. Air quality is quite an emotional issue for some of us. My mother died of asthma because of the areas we lived in.
Therefore you should never forget the communities affected by the poor air, your interventions within the communities are of utmost importance to create awareness and educate the people about the impact of poor air and benefits of good air quality.
What are the linkages between ourselves and the affected communities?
We know and understand there will always be challenges but you continue to work hard to ensure that our air is protected and improved where necessary. It should not be about us but instead about the people that we serve. Change is possible only if we work hard. If we work an extra mile.
The great work of this fraternity is reflected in the Annual National Air Quality Officer’s Report. The successes you achieved as a collective as outlined in this report must be celebrated.
Indeed we can take pride in the fact that in just a decade after the promulgation of the Air Quality Act we have made great strides in initiating and implementing various interventions at national, provincial and local level which resulted in improvements in the management of air quality in our country.
However, let us address the linkages, let us not talk amongst ourselves on this issue.
But while you celebrate these successes, you must always remember that there is still more that needs to be done before we can achieve the objective of ensuring that the communities we serve enjoy air that is not harmful to their health and well-being as mandated by the Constitution.
Therefore, as we all gather here to reflect on what the government has been doing towards the improvement of air quality in the country for the past ten years, I urge you to be mindful of how we will continue to minimize the negative impacts of poor air quality on the most vulnerable members of the communities we serve.
It is of paramount importance that in the course of our work, we devise creative ways to educate our people about the impacts of poor air and benefits of good air quality. This should be seen as service delivery.
I stand in your presence impressed about the professional manner in which you have handled the postponement applications by industry so as to facilitate the long term compliance with their atmospheric emission licenses. Let us work with industry – there are also other challenges – the issue of spatial planning.
One is proud of the work that you have accomplished in the development of the South African Atmospheric Licensing & Inventory Portal, which will once and for all bury the outdated paper-based management of air quality licensing and reporting. From now on all licensing and reporting of emissions will be done at the click of a button, thereby drastically improving efficiency and service delivery. DDG Judy Beaumont, I give you and the team a pat on the back for that.
We acknowledge the work of the South African Weather Services in managing and hosting the SAAQIS but I must express my disappointment that despite the undertakings which were made in the past, the upgrade of this system is yet to be concluded. I therefore urge the department and the South African Weather Service to expedite the initiation of this important project as a matter of urgency. This is very important as it answers directly to the call for transparency in our democracy.
I also see from the 2015 State of Air Report that there are still a number of government air quality monitoring stations which are not fully operational and therefore, do not meet minimum data requirements. This is a real thorn in the flesh and one needs to emphasise that this is highly unacceptable and as I stated before I will ensure that this matter is deliberated in our MINMEC meetings to ensure that this issue is resolved at political level. We acknowledge and appreciate the work done by the other provinces, especially the work done in Gauteng, Cape Town, Ethekwini and other provinces.
Your great work is reflected in the Annual National Air Quality Officer’s report. So, we are here to celebrate your successes and trust that you will continue to devise possible solutions to protect our people’s health and well-being.
With these few words, I would like to formally open this 10th Air Quality Governance Lekgotla and wish you the best in your deliberations and interactions.
I thank you
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