KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) coastline
10 August 2007
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, Honourable
Mtholephi Mthimkhulu (MPL), today, Friday, 10 August, undertook an aerial tour
of the KwaZulu-Natal coastline between Ballito on the north and Kelso on the
south with the sole objective of appraising himself about the extent of the
damage caused by erosion and also for him to view the impact of the erosion at
first hand.
MEC Mthimkhulu was accompanied by the newly-appointed Head of Department,
Advocate Modidima Mannya and senior departmental officials from the
Environmental Management Services' Coastal Management component. The areas
visited include Kelso, Park Rynie, Scottburgh, Umkomaas, Amanzimtoti, Umhlanga,
Umdloti, La Mercy, Salt Rock and Ballito. During the fly-over inspection of the
coastal erosion, the MEC's entourage also landed on the Inyoni Rocks Beach at
Amanzimtoti where there has been continuing erosion as recent as last week.
"What I have witnessed today calls for a concerted united response by the
entire Provincial Government machinery, not our Agriculture and Environmental
Affairs Department alone, as this is a crisis of provincial proportion as it
involves quite a number of departments including Local Government and
Traditional Affairs, Economic Development, Arts, Culture and Tourism,
Transport, Health, Community Safety and Liaison as well as the affected coastal
municipalities including the eThekwini Municipality," said MEC Mthimkhulu.
He added that he had tasked the Head of Department Advocate Mannya to
immediately attend to the coastal erosion crisis and that a report be ready
within the next two weeks for submission to the provincial Cabinet. "I will be
consulting with my other Cabinet colleagues who are politically responsible for
the aforementioned different portfolios whilst at the same time the Head of
Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs will be doing likewise with
his counterparts from the respective departments including the Director-General
of the Province, Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa, as a matter of urgency," said
Mthimkhulu.
He added that in due course he will be appraising the Provincial Premier
Honourable Sibusiso Ndebele on the catastrophic developments presently
unfolding along the provincial coastline. Head of Department Advocate Mannya
said he had already appointed a senior environmental manager from within the
department, Mr William Mngoma, to project-manage the coastal erosion crisis
with the sole intention of co-ordinating a holistic inclusive response and
approach involving the affected municipalities, the different provincial
departments and the political principals from mayors of the affected coastal
local and district municipalities to the MECs of the departments whose
portfolios are directly affected by the erosion.
"As a first step in addressing the coastal erosion crisis, I have taken it
upon myself that my office as the Head of Department will be at the forefront
at co-ordinating whatever response the Department will be employing to find a
solution to this crisis. This crisis is no longer the responsibility of one
department. I say this because infrastructure such as roads, tourism facilities
such as beaches, recreational amenities and municipal infrastructure has been
destroyed. The impassable roads means there will be delayed response by
emergency vehicles such as ambulances, fire brigade and police. This will
undoubtedly have a serious detriment to service delivery for our communities
living along the affected coastal areas," said Mannya.
The Head of Department further said a composite report detailing technical
advice expertise, the legal requirements and possible solution to arrest the
unfolding crisis should be ready in a fortnight's time.
Fact sheet and background
Over the last few months, KwaZulu-Natal's coastline has been subject to
unprecedented levels of erosion. This has been the result of storm events most
notably that of 18 and 19 March 2007, and high tide events which have produced
swells exceeding 8.5 m. The worst hit areas include Ugu and Ilembe District
Municipalities as well as eThekwini Municipality, where sewage pipelines and
public amenity infrastructure have been washed away. Private landowners have
also been adversely affected.
This damage has since continued with most beaches and offshore areas having
been denuded of sand. Experts predict that this destruction will continue as
the sea is literally mining tons of sand from beaches to restore the former
equilibrium between erosion and deposition (accretion) of sediments. It has
been reported that approximately 80 metres of beach (including amenity) has
been lost in the recent erosion at the Amanzimtoti Nyoni Rocks beach.
The provincial Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs (DAEA)
has been assisting in ensuring that the clean-up operations, temporary and
short term protection measures employed, long term rehabilitation plans, as
well as other related activities that have been and are being undertaken by
municipalities and private landowners are done in accordance with the law.
Officials from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environmental
Affairs have assisted in the following ways:
* Meetings were convened and attended and continue to be attended, with
affected Municipalities and private landowners, to support their initiatives to
co-ordinate repairs and rehabilitation.
The National Environmental Management Act [NEMA] Section 30 reporting pro forma
document was amended to better suit the type of emergency experienced.
* All reports received were reviewed and municipalities and land owners were
advised one of the following:
* Their report complied with Section 30(3) of NEMA and that they could
proceed with the repairs as detailed within a certain time frame
* that the information provided in the report was insufficient and in terms of
Section 30(6), requested that the additional information or reports be provided
within a certain timeframe or
* that the repairs contemplated in the report did not constitute emergency
repairs as contemplated in Section 30 and that they should appoint an
environmental assessment practitioner to assess whether such repairs require a
basic assessment or full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
A provincial task team was established to collectively review and assess all
applications and reports received. Support has been provided to all affected
Municipalities and they are all adopting a strategy of prioritising the work
necessary for repairing and rehabilitating infrastructure. These have been
divided into three categories, namely:
* Category 1 actions: Actions that impact on health and safety and require
immediate attention (which have been treated as an emergency and require/are
requiring the completion of a NEMA Section 30 report).
* Category 2 actions: Actions to ensure that access to amenity and facilities
is provided as soon as possible (requiring the completion of a basic assessment
or environmental impact assessment).
* Category 3 actions: Investigations into the appropriateness of the locations
of infrastructure.
Additional actions proposed to be undertaken by the Department include the
development and implementation of a strategy in respect to monitoring of
compliance and enforcement.
For enquiries please contact:
Mbulelo Baloyi
Media Liaison Officer
Cell: 082 415 7277
Issued by: Department of Agriculture and Environment Affairs, KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Government
10 August 2007
Source: SAPA
