South Africa is adopting a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to environment and water crimes, says Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica.

“This campaign will be bolstered by our commitment to [reintroduce] environmental courts. We are in discussion with the Justice Portfolio and other law enforcement agencies to realise this and, within eight months, we will see the results,” Sonjica said last week.

She added that her department was in the process of expanding the mandate of environmental management inspectors to include the water aspect. The emergence of a single enforcement unit, arising from the integration of the Blue Scorpions and the Green Scorpions, would strengthen the resolve against wrongdoers.

“We are going to apply the ‘polluter pays’ principle with renewed vigour to ensure that culprits committing pollution, illegal water use and other environment and water crimes don’t go unpunished.”

Sonjica said that communities in rural areas and poor townships deserved an equal chance of access to basic amenities like water, sanitation, electricity and recreational facilities.

“To this end, we are investing R500-million in a programme to intervene in high-risk areas where there are water challenges.”

The investment will tackle sewage spillages, target specific treatment facilities and provide much-needed technical assistance to municipalities.

She said that the department had identified nodal areas for focused interventions and that these had been chosen based on the extent of the need for refurbishment, the extent of sewage spillages, and the age and extent of dilapidation of infrastructure.

Sonjica stated that the recent handing out of certificates to 22 municipalities that qualified for Blue Drop certification was an indication of the route that the department was taking in ensur- ing that the water sector was well regulated.

“Through this programme, we have managed to raise the profile of drinking-water quality and to name and shame those who are not comply- ing. Municipal reporting has increased and the sector achieved an average of 93,3% compliance with the microbiological limits of the national standard.”