Wednesday, 27 February, 2008
groundWork asks for public protection against the DEAT
groundWork [1] has approached the Public Protector to intervene
in DEAT’s push for incineration. For many years, groundWork
has been calling on government to have a clear policy about
the incineration of waste, especially hazardous waste. groundWork
is opposed to incineration as the burning of waste emits toxins,
including two of the most dangerous known to man, dioxin and
furan, and heavy metals into the air. These emissions have
been scientifically proven to cause disease within both people
and animals. In addition, once something has been burned up
it is lost forever, and this is wasteful of resources.
In mid-2007 DEAT began a “National Policy Development
Process for High Temperature Thermal Waste Treatment”.
Because it was the stated intention of the DEAT to run the
process of policy development parallel to the development
of guidelines about what can be burned and how, it was clear
that the policy decision had already been made: waste is to
be burned. Civil Society nevertheless involved itself fully
in the process and, because no funds were made available by
DEAT, groundWork has paid for many people from communities
affected, or potentially affected, by waste incineration to
go to Pretoria to participate in the meetings. In addition,
groundWork contracted an international expert on incineration,
Alan Watson, to evaluate and comment on the process and made
his report available to the DEAT.
At the last meeting it was made clear by the DEAT that our
participation has had no effect and delegates were informed
by Chief Director Nolwazi Cobbinah that “DEAT does not
have to respond and give reasons as to why they do not consider
your comments”.
Given our grave concern regarding incineration, and our doubts
as to the legitimacy of the current policy process, groundWork
has prepared a submission to the Public Protector, asking
him to investigate the DEAT and its attitude towards incineration
and public participation. Specifically, we request him to
intercede on the following grounds:
- Incineration is a violation of our constitutional right
to a healthy environment. We believe that the DEAT is betraying
this right because of industry pressure;
- Maladministration of resources resulting in fruitless
and wasteful expenditure, as it is clear that the process
was simply for show and had no purpose other than to pretend
at public participation;
- As the DEAT was well aware that the process was simply
for show, they have dealt dishonestly and improperly with
public funds by employing such funds in the project. Our
understanding is that the overseas consultants employed
by the DEAT have cost a great deal of money and we suspect
that industry might have funded aspects of their consultation
to the DEAT.
- The individuals within DEAT who are responsible for the
policy process have a long history as supporters of incineration.
These individuals were involved in the permitting of the
Aidsafe Incinerator which has recently been shut down because
of unsafe operating conditions, and the Thermopower Heat
Treatment plant that is currently being investigated by
the Green Scorpions because of health impacts on their staff
and neighbours. We believe that this personal bias is not
in the public interest and has resulted in flawed policy
outcomes.
- The DEAT has not consulted with community people who
live adjacent to these cement kilns and, in fact, only proposes
to consult in March 2008. The decisions, however, have already
been taken. groundWork had to bring people to Pretoria to
participate in the last government meeting we had in order
to ensure that their voices were heard.
“A process of public participation which simply ignores
the public is both wasteful of resources and dishonest”,
says Bobby Peek, Director of groundWork. “The Constitutional
Court has said that government has a duty to consult with
people before it makes decisions. I am sure that this also
means that it has a duty to listen to those people, and to
act on what those people tell it.”
End
|
