MEC to monitor cleanup operations of Durban oil spill

KZN MEC for Economic Development and Environmental Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube will be visiting the Durban harbour canal on Saturday afternoon to monitor the rehabilitation and cleaning up operations of an oil spill in the Umbilo River. 

The spill occurred on 19 October in the Bellair area and is being linked to the theft of Transnet infrastructure.

A Joint Operations Committee (JOC) is looking into the spill and is made up by roleplayers from the National Departments of Environmental Affairs (DEFF), Human Settlement, Water and Sanitation, Transnet, the Ethekwini Municipality, and wildlife authorities, among other. 

Dube-Ncube says so far oil-stained litter in a mangrove area has been removed "as this will become a source of secondary contamination as well."

Surface and groundwater in the catchment area are to be evaluated for contamination. 

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"I remain encouraged by messages of support from environmentalists, activists, and other experts involved in the fight against pollution," said Dube-Ncube. 

"This year alone there have been 80 incidents of the extraction of petroleum from Pipelines and only one conviction in court a few weeks ago," she notes. 

"Last year there were more than 100 incidents. In the last incident, more than 60 000 liters of crude oil were lost."

Dube-Ncube called on communities to report suspicious tankers or trucks near Transnet pipelines as they can potentially be involved in illegal activities.