Note to Editors: Attached by find a soundbite in English here and Afrikaans here by Leanne De Jager MPL.
The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng voted against the 2026/2027 Environment budget of R646 million because it is inadequate to address the scale of the environmental emergency facing Gauteng’s 16 million residents. Every day, residents’ health and well-being are at risk because the department cannot provide reliable air quality data, raw sewage continues to flow into our rivers, and there is no proper plan to combat climate change.
The air quality in the province is atrocious. Yet, the budget for environmental quality management has decreased from R130 million in the previous year to only R83 million for the current financial year. Communities in Ekurhuleni and Tshwane, where most industrial activities take place, continue to be exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution. Yet ambient air quality monitoring stations in these priority areas remain insufficient, under-resourced, and in some cases non-functional.
Raw sewage continues to flow into the province’s waterways, deepening a crisis not only for the public but also for one of South Africa’s most iconic heritage sites. The Percy Stewart Wastewater Treatment Works in Mogale City is actively threatening the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a source of irreplaceable scientific heritage, and a significant driver of tourism income for this province. This is not a maintenance backlog. This is a systemic failure with real consequences for Gauteng’s international standing and economy.
The programme responsible for climate change management receives only a fraction of the R45 million allocated to Environmental Policy, Planning and Coordination. Gauteng is vulnerable to severe rainfall, extended heatwaves, and flooding of essential infrastructure, which the province can hardly afford to maintain.
The negative consequences of this department failing to protect the environment are being felt in the persistently low tourism growth and lack of job creation.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng demands that the MEC for Environment, Ewan Botha, take charge of his department. The MEC must ensure that residents live in a province where the environment is protected. The government must hold accountable those who violate laws intended to protect waterways, including individuals and businesses that pollute them. The DA Gauteng will continue to hold this department accountable for every rand.
Gauteng residents deserve to live in a province that has minimal pollution. A DA-led provincial government would immediately ensure that all ambient air quality monitoring stations are fully operational and that the pollution of the province’s waterways is curbed.