Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 1 February 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Slightly cooler night temperatures only brought some relief to firefighters battling multiple fires in Worcester, Wolseley and Rawsonville in the Cape Winelands Municipality. There are currently nine firefighting vehicles with crew and an additional 65 ground crew members on the scenes. The municipality’s spokesperson, Jo-Anne Otto, says the South African Weather Service has predicted temperatures above 38 degrees Celius today, which will impact firefighting activities:

# ​The City of Johannesburg says concerns raised by residents regarding persistent air pollution have propelled the city’s Environmental Management inspectors to act. This comes as Jin Shan Manufacturing has been accused of emitting harmful fumes, adversely affecting the local community at Industrial North. The city’s spokesperson, Virgil James, says the company failed to produce any documentation, resulting in the immediate arrest of the manager. He added that within a week, the company shut down its operations:

# And finally: The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has chosen a Canadian-South African consortium to design, implement and maintain a new mining licensing system. The Minerals Council South Africa estimates a backlog of more than three-thousand applications for prospecting and mining rights, with an investment value of more than 30-billion-rand. PMG Consortium is a conglomeration of three companies, Canadian group Pacific GeoTech Systems and two South African companies, MITS Institute and Gemini GIS and Environmental Services. The department says addressing the backlog will boost mining exploration.

Stay tuned for more news………….