Budget constraints: KZN air quality stations non-operational

IOL News

4 days ago

The Durban landscape. Concerns have been raised about the air quality in KwaZulu-Natal as air quality monitoring stations have not been working for two years.
Image: File Photo: Leon Lestrade Independent Newspapers
KZN's air quality monitoring stations are non-operational due to budget constraints, raising concerns about the health impacts on communities. YOSHINI PERUMAL explores the implications of the shutdown and the call for urgent action.
WITH all six air quality stations in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) non-operational due to budget constraints, the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) has failed to assess the health risks posed by deteriorating air quality in local communities.
The state of the air quality stations were revealed in a parliamentary response to the Democratic Alliance's (DA) Hannah Lidgett, spokesperson on environmental affairs for KZN.
The stations are located in Newcastle, Stanger, Ngwelezane, Port Shepstone, Pietermaritzburg, and Estcourt.
Dr Bonginkosi Dlamini, chief director of environmental management for EDTEA, said there was a lack of budget to operate the stations in Newcastle and Stanger, while at the Ngwelezane and Estcourt stations there were no budget available to repair the instruments.
He said at Port Shepstone, the instruments were beyond repair and the facility had become obsolete.
Dlamini added a lack of budget and vandalisation of the Pietermaritzburg station had led to it being shut down.
'Some of the stations will be repaired following the 2025/2026 financial year, while others have been earmarked for the 2026/2027 financial year,' he added.
He said due to the stations being shut down, the EDTEA relied on data from the South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS) and its accompanying reports.
'The department has not assessed the health risks and impacts of poor air quality on communities. The assessments are part of the activities in the recently approved Air Quality Management Plan for KZN,' Dlamini said.
Lidgett said it was alarming that the department had no data on the health impacts of poor air quality on communities.
'This collapse was allowed to happen under the neglectful eyes of the previous administration. What is particularly disturbing is that many communities across KZN are at the brunt of poor air quality and report significant health impacts. It is deeply concerning that former governments did not address the issue,' added Lidgett.
She said it was also concerning that turnaround times to fix the stations were staggered.
'Adding to the concern, the department confirmed it had not commissioned any studies or assessments regarding the health impacts of poor air quality on communities. This historical neglect is in direct contradiction to their constitutional duty to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all residents of KZN. Instead, EDTEA stated that health impact assessments form part of future activities under the recently approved Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP).
'It is unacceptable that the provincial government remains unaware of the extent of harm caused by air pollution while simultaneously delaying meaningful intervention for years to come. Without data, there can be no accountability, and without accountability, communities will continue to suffer needlessly,' she said.
Lidgett called on EDTEA to fast-track the urgent repair and recommissioning of the three air quality monitoring stations earmarked for remediation in this financial year.
'We also call for the immediate implementation of the AQMP which was approved in 2024, and a transparent implementation timeline for the AQMP with measurable deliverables.
'The department must begin interim community-level air quality assessments through mobile monitoring units, immediately initiate health risk studies in known pollution hotspots, and prioritise emergency repairs and recommissioning of existing stations in the 2024/25 adjustment budget,' she added.
EDTEA's AQMP report indicated the gap and capacity analysis in the province, and revealed that the human resources capacity in KZN was limited and comprised one air quality officer and one environmental compliance officer.
To adequately manage air quality, the AQMP stated that it was necessary to fill the vacant AQMP positions and expand the team.
Proposed interventions in the plan included the investigation of the feasibility of renewable energy and mechanisms to regulate newly identified technologies; to develop and enforce emission reduction plans or measures for controlled emitters; and to identify any listed and controlled activities currently operating without emissions licences
The management plan included health studies conducted in KZN.
One study examined respiratory outcomes in association to ambient air quality among school children at primary schools located in two regions, which was the highly industrialised Durban south areas and non-industrialised Durban north areas.
The outcome of the study indicated that poor respiratory health was more common in children from the Durban south region than from the north region. In the population-based sample, 32.1% of participants had asthma of some severity, 12.0% had persistent asthma, of which 4.0% had moderate to severe symptoms, and 7.8% had marked airway hyperreactivity.
The south region participants were noted to have prevalent cases of severe symptoms of asthma. The results indicate that 12.2% of south region participants had moderate to severe persistent asthma compared to the northern region participants, which was 9.6%.
The findings strongly suggested that the adverse respiratory symptoms had been increased by industrial pollution.
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