“Advocate Thobeka Phungula told the court the offences were serious and affected the rights of citizens, the right to an environment not harmful to their health or wellbeing and to have the environment protected. The offence had a detrimental effect on the ecological systems and the use of natural resources,” Nyuswa said.
The state argued the municipality must ensure service to the community and by committing these offences the municipality failed its community and failed to comply with legislation relating to the protection of the environment. Nyuswa said Phungula further argued the failure to comply with notices caused the situation to deteriorate and led to essential equipment being damaged and the damage being extended into the Vaal Dam.Nyuswa said the court took into consideration all factors and fined the municipality R70m.“It further ordered that proof of expenditure and repairs must be submitted to the department of agriculture, rural development, land and environmental affairs,” she said.
“In addition, R500,000 must be paid to the department of water services and the department of agriculture, rural development, land and environmental affairs for liabilities incurred during the investigation.”
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Source: SABCNews - 🏆 37. / 51 Read more »
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