South Africa: Residents want action on Merebank pollution

The Crisis Care Line, a Merebank-based community organisation, battling air pollution in south Durban has stated that the eThekwini municipality's efforts to curb air pollution through the importation of 'sniffing' machines were not good enough. Commenting on the announcement that the monitoring equipment had arrived in the city as part of a R28m plan to curb air pollution in the industrial basin, organisation chairman Ebrahim Sheik asked what the city authorities and the minister were now going to do to put a stop to the problem. According to Sheik the three main culprits of air pollution in the area - Engen, Sapref and Mondi - had promised two years ago to turn a classroom at the Settlers Primary School into a clinic, but has never fulfilled their side of the deal.