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To mark International Day for Clean Air for Blue Skies, the City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Councillor Jolidee Matongo, received an award from the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development (GDARD) on Tuesday, 07 September 2021.

The award is the result of the outstanding work by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to reduce the impact on the environment in the execution of its daily business and contributing towards an improvement of air quality in the city.

Representing MEC Parks Tau, GDARD’s Chief Director: Sustainable Use of Environment, Mr Loyiso Mkwana, said the JRA’s recently re-opened asphalt plant met all the requirement and guidelines.

These include the fact that the facility reports on the National Atmospheric Emission Inventory System (NAEIS) and complies with all requirements, and indicates a significant reduction in air pollution emissions of one or more priority pollutants.

“There are about 425 industries registered on NAEIS master list and about 17 industries have been found to have had significant achievements in air pollution reduction and prevention and are therefore identified for recognition,” said Mkwana.

Mayor Matongo was accompanied by Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Environment and Infrastructure Services Cllr Mpho Moerane, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport Cllr Nonhlanhla Makhuba and Member of the Mayoral Committee for Finance Cllr Matshidiso Mfikoe.

International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies is a UN initiative aimed at improving air quality, enhancing global awareness of air pollution, and promoting necessary action by stakeholders. This year the day is celebrated under the theme ‘healthy air, healthy planet’, which emphasizes the health effects of air pollution.

Speaking at the event, Mayor Matongo said: “The city would like to highlight the importance of industries as critical contributors towards the improvement air quality. The City has 43 licensed facilities that have been issued with the Atmospheric Emissions licenses.” 

“We call on all these facilities to continuously put measures in place to manage emissions from their operations by complying with the emissions standards,” said Mayor Matongo. 

He further applauded the work done under MMC for Transport, Cllr Nonhlanhla Makhuba, and the JRA CEO on the improvements witnessed at the asphalt plant showcase. “This is especially as the facility used to generate a lot of air pollution complaints from the surrounding businesses and residential areas,” Mayor Matongo pointed out.

MMC Moerane added that “as the City, we have recently adopted the Air Quality Management Plan that aims to ensure that we achieve clean air for all through the implementation of coordinated actions that will result in the reduction of emissions.

“The objectives of the Air Quality Management Plan will only be achieved through compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, including compliance with the City’s Air Pollution Control By-laws, soon to be promulgated,” said MMC Moerane

MMC Makhuba said she is glad to report that the JRA has heeded the call to change how they work and drastically reduce their impact on the environment and air quality of the city. These efforts were not in vain as today the entity is being recognised.

Air pollution is the single-greatest environmental risk to human health, hence the city’s efforts to put measures in place to mitigate climate change. This provides a platform for public awareness raising and engagement in an endeavour to foster environmental stewardship for the improvement of air quality. 

The City of Johannesburg have eight air quality monitoring stations across all regions that record and report the state of air quality within the municipality. This data is available for public consumption on the South African Air Quality Information System website and on the app.

Issued by the City of Johannesburg