Deputy Minister Singh proposes Richards Bay air quality forum as government weighs priority area declaration

Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Narend Singh has proposed a standing Richards Bay Air Quality and Industrial Sustainability Forum and confirmed that his department is working towards declaring Richards Bay a priority area under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, where the evidence supports it.

Singh set out both positions in a keynote address to the Captains of Industry Engagement of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Bon Hotel in Richards Bay, according to the official record published by the South African Government at https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/deputy-minister-narend-singh-captains-industry-engagement-zululand-chamber-commerce.

He told the gathering that a priority area designation is not punitive. It is a focused commitment, he said, and a recognition that the region requires coordinated, resourced, multi-stakeholder intervention to bring pollution levels within national standards.

The forum he proposed would bring together his department, the provincial government, the uMhlathuze Local Municipality, industry, organised business and community representatives. He said it must have clear terms of reference, measurable commitments and independent oversight, and that the communities most affected must sit in it as full participants rather than as an afterthought.

Singh said the coal terminal and bulk handling operations at the port are among the most significant sources of fugitive dust in the region. His department is engaging Transnet, terminal operators and industry on a programme to reduce dust at source, through improved handling practices, enclosed transfer points, water spray systems, wind screens and tighter controls on coal stockpiles.

He said atmospheric emission licences are being reviewed to reflect current best practice, that air quality monitoring infrastructure in the region is being strengthened, and that data is being made publicly accessible through the South African Air Quality Information System.

On enforcement, Singh was direct. He said non-compliance exists, that some operators treat environmental regulations as a cost to be minimised rather than a standard to be met, and that monitoring data is sometimes incomplete and enforcement action sometimes takes too long. Environmental Management Inspectors, known as the Green Scorpions, are being capacitated, compliance monitoring in Richards Bay is being prioritised, and where wilful or repeated non-compliance is found, the department will act, he said.

The address placed the region’s air quality questions inside the Constitution. Singh cited section 24, the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or wellbeing, and said the duty is shared across all three spheres of government. National government sets the policy and legislative framework, provincial government handles authorisations and compliance monitoring, and local government runs land-use planning, waste management, stormwater and air quality monitoring.

He rejected the framing of economy against environment. Clean air is not the opposite of industrial development, he said. It is the proof of it. An industry that cannot manage its emissions is not built for the future, and a port that cannot handle its dust will lose its social licence and, increasingly, its access to global markets.

Singh pointed to carbon pricing at the European border, investor screening for environmental, social and governance performance, and harder consumer questions about supply chains. The question, he said, is not whether South Africa will transition but whether it will lead that transition or be dragged into it.

He also read the courts into the argument. He cited Sustaining the Wild Coast NPC and Others v Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy and Others [2026] ZACC 33, handed down on 14 August 2026, in which the Constitutional Court restored the setting aside of an offshore exploration right granted to Impact Africa and later held with Shell. The majority, per Kollapen J, held that a just and equitable remedy under section 172 of the Constitution must vindicate the rights that were breached, including section 24, and that financial investment cannot be elevated so as to outweigh grave constitutional violations.

The original defects in that decision-making, Singh said, included the failure of meaningful consultation, the failure to consider climate change and coastal protection, and the failure to apply the precautionary principle. Corners cut in the name of expediency or sunk costs do not become lawful with time, he said.

He extended the point to the Highveld Priority Area litigation involving the State, Eskom and Sasol, where he said the courts have confirmed that persistently poor air quality can itself amount to a breach of section 24, and that government cannot treat the duty to plan, monitor and enforce as optional where communities live with cumulative industrial emissions.

Richards Bay is not the Highveld, Singh said, but the principle is the same. Lawful development and clean air are not sequential choices. They must travel together.

Singh also described work already under way in the area. Following his intervention, together with provincial and local government, a hackathon was held along the greenbelt in Brackenham Township, where alien invasive species were removed and dumped waste was cleared. His department provided gardening implements to three schools in Brackenham for environmental education and school food gardens.

Two schools were left out of that first handover, Aquadene Secondary School and Floraton Primary School. Singh said that in partnership with Mondi he will hand over tools, materials and seedlings to both schools. The list he gave includes wheelie bins, rakes, watering cans, gloves, refuse bags, hoes, a hose pipe, wheelbarrows, spades, buckets with a tap, printing paper, and trays of spinach, beetroot, onion, green pepper and cabbage seedlings, along with two orange trees.

To industry, he said: lead, go beyond compliance, invest in cleaner technology, be transparent about emissions, and treat neighbouring communities as partners. Social licence is not a permanent possession, he said. It is earned every single day.

To government, he said: be consistent, predictable and present. Provide clear standards and enforce them without fear, favour or prejudice. Cut the red tape that delays legitimate investment, he said, without cutting the corners that protect public health and the environment. Support municipalities with the capacity to monitor and manage air quality, and be honest about trade-offs and timelines.

To communities, he said their voice and health matter, and that their patience should not be taken for granted.

Enquiries on the address are directed to Zolile Nqayi at 082 898 6483 or znqayi@dffe.gov.za.

Source: South African Government, Deputy Minister Narend Singh: The Captains of Industry Engagement of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/deputy-minister-narend-singh-captains-industry-engagement-zululand-chamber-commerce)