Upper Highway Air are pleased to announce that today, in no small measure as a result of the efforts of the Green Scorpions and the UHA NPC who put paid to EnviroServ’s constitutional challenge to delay the criminal proceedings, EnviroServ was convicted in the Durban Regional Magistrates’ Court.

The learned Magistrate imposed a sentence of R4 million, R2 million payable now and R2 million suspended for 3 years plus DEFF reimbursed R1.2 million and the UHA NPC awarded R1.2 million in damages towards the amounts it spent on costs in pursuing EnviroServ and proving it was the polluter, which evidence was also part of the state docket. If Enviroserv is found guilty of infringement in the next 3 years the R2 million suspended becomes payable.

In return, and in accordance with the mandate given by Community Reps from our last meeting, this concludes UHA NPC’s efforts against bringing EnviroServ to justice to this point. UHA NPC has agreed to conclude its pending suits against EnviroServ and as part of the guilty plea agreement. The DEFF will be undertaking a review of the operations of the Monitoring Committee within 60 days of today. This is because it is in the hands of the community to ensure that EnviroServ does not continue polluting and it is compelled to operate as it must.

Please ensure those who have experience of the shenanigans at the Monitoring Committee address their concerns to Mishelle Govender and Francis Craigie of the DEFF as well as the Minister, at the below email addresses, to ensure these are taken into account in the review process. We all know there is no proof of representivity by the EnviroServ cohorts who are bussed in to vote for their chairman and other pivotal decisions in the Monitoring Committee. Please make your voices heard.

UHA NPC will be meeting to determine how best to use the money within the community to help those less fortunate and also those further afield in KZN who have been affected by environmental disasters and will update the community in this regard.

This has been a long road with a heavy cost on all of our lives and families and we want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of the community who has trusted us with their mandate, fought alongside us, cried with us, rejoiced with us. UHA would not have got this far and got a guilty conviction if it were not for all of you. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Email addresses are as follows:
Mishelle Govender – [email protected]
Frances Craigie – [email protected]
Minister – [email protected]