South Africa’s environmental police force, the ”Green Scorpions,” will be out in strength around the country on Thursday in a massive crackdown on polluters and poachers.
In the first of what the Department of Environmental Affairs is calling a ”planned quarterly enforcement day”, the specialised unit’s inspectors are to crack down on illegal fishing, the disposal of hazardous waste and the activities of at least one chemical plant.
They will also hand out information to members of the public in an effort to increase environmental awareness.
One of the industries targeted is the Foskor chemical plant in Richard’s Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. A 30-member inspection team descended on the plant earlier on Thursday.
According to the department, the compliance inspection comes in the wake of ”numerous incidents” at the state-owned plant, where there have been serious breaches of environmental legislation over the past five years.
Disposal of waste will be the focus of inspectors in the Northern Cape, where the Green Scorpions will check out abattoirs in and around Kuruman.
In the Western Cape, marine and coastal management inspectors ”intend to carry out enforcement in relation to illegal slipways, off-road vehicles and unregistered launching sites” in the province.
On the East Rand, the Green Scorpions will serve a compliance notice on the Aid Safe hazardous waste facility ”for contravening the conditions of their environmental-impact assessment record of decision”.
South of Cape Town, inspectors from the Table Mountain National Park will monitor the coastline for criminal activity through boat patrols and vessel checking.
In Mpumalanga, inspectors will monitor the Sabie River for illegal fishing.
”An education and awareness campaign is part of the day’s line-up, as inspectors engage with fishermen on the topic of illegal fishing in an effort to address this serious challenge affecting the Sabie River.”
The department has called on the public to report environmental transgressions to the 24-hour environmental crimes and incident hotline on 0800 205 005. — Sapa