Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 9 September  1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Gauteng is now the pollution hotspot of South Africa, as the country’s air quality has regressed since 2017. This is according to a report by the national air quality official, Patience Gwaze. The report shows that Gauteng had only 100 days of clean air last year, followed by Mpumalanga with 150 to 200 days. Gwaze says some factors contributing to air pollution in Gauteng include the transportation of pollution from Mpumalanga. She says the report could be skewed because of a lack of air quality monitoring equipment in some provinces.

# The New Development Bank has cancelled Eskom’s around 8.5-billion-rand loan for the reduction of sulphur dioxide emissions at Medupi Power Station in Limpopo. The loan was approved in March 2019 and was aimed at financing flue-gas desulphurisation technology at the plant. The bank’s processes are such that funds must be reallocated to other investments if implementation of the project is stalled. Eskom told News24 the processes to plan and provide the capital expenditure required, as well as internal discussions, due diligence and approvals, took longer than anticipated.

# And, this week is SA National Parks’ Week, an opportunity for people to visit most of the country’s national parks for free. The inaugural SANParks week was held in 2006 and was aimed at linking the South African national parks system to the global national movement. SANParks says it uses this week to cultivate a sense of pride in the country’s natural, cultural and historical heritage, as protected and preserved by the national parks system.

Stay tuned for more news………….