African Wildlife & Environment Issue 82

CONSERVATION

The Corruption of our Environmental Law AN EXAMPLE FROM TWO RIVERS IN KZN

The Zondo Commission of Enquiry has shown the extent to which corrupt practices have become part of the way that government operates in South Africa. This shocking situation has many ramifications. Just one set of these involves the

Dr Anthony Turton

ecological status of our rivers. This article focuses on the intention of the National Water Act (NWA) insofar as it is applicable to authorization for sand mining in our rivers, by referring to Case Numbers 14236/14 and 14621/14 that came before the Durban High Court in 2015. These cases were between KwaZulu Bulk Logistics (CC) (Applicant) and the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs (First Respondent) and the Judicial Services Commission (Second Respondent).

These two cases were triggered by a formal complaint that was lodged by Umgeni Water when the operators at the Umvoti Treatment Plant (WTP) reported that the river had allegedly been diverted by sand mining operations upstream of the plant. Fearful of potential mass protest from the residents of the iLembe District, this complaint triggered a raid by the Blue Scorpions. During this raid, formal notification was given to a sandmining operator with a legal mining right downstream of the WTP, to cease all operations. This was done by means of a Section 53 shutdown of all operations, signed by Mr Ashley Starkey, the Provincial Head of the Department of Water and Sanitation on13 November 2014. It must be noted than many

The extent of mining along the riparian zone of the Umvoti River on 23 Agust 2013 is clearly evident in Google Earth images. This resulted in a Section 53 shutdown citing Section 21 (c) and (i) of the National Water Act

that amended the General Authorization in terms of Section 39 of the NWA found in GN 1199 (published 18 December 2009). In terms of this new GN (2015), Sections 21(c) and (i) were clarified as follows: • “altering the bed, banks, course or characteristics of a watercourse” means any change affecting the resource quality within the extent of the watercourse. • “resource quality characteristics” means the quality of all the aspects of a water resource including the quantity, patterns, timing and instream flow; the physical, chemical and

illegal operators were also active along the river, both upstream and downstream of the Umvoti WTP, but they were not raided. As far as can be determined, the only operation that was shut down was Adeel Sands (CC), which was the legal mining rights holder, even as the case was brought against KwaZulu Bulk Logistics, owned by the same investors, but acting only as a provider of transport and machinery. Central to the shutdown of Adeel Sands, was a Government Notice (GN) published on 1 April 2015

11 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 82 (2022)