Residents kick up a stink as city’s failing infrastructure sees raw sewage spilling over into environment

RICHARDS Bay residents are fighting a losing battle against pervasive coal dust from
the port’s storage terminal, forcing them to clean their homes multiple times daily
while suffering from respiratory issues.

Our recent front page article (Port pollution
problem, 15 September 2025) referred to the Transnet Integrated Report stating that dust
pollution at the Port of Richards Bay had reached serious levels.

TRANSNET is heading for trouble over port dust pollution. It admits it faces ‘significant
operational, legal and reputational risks’ related to air quality management, particularly in highimpact areas such as Richards Bay.

Air pollution cost South Africa more than R960bn and42,000 lives in 2023, a new report finds, but thegovernment keeps extending emissions exemptions.

Richards Bay Clean Air Association data
vital to pollution- and health-watch.