Gauteng Department of Environment

Gauteng Department of Environment A resilient Gauteng that protects and manages its environment and natural assets to ensure sustainability.
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08/09/2026

🎥 WATCH | Step Away. Let People Lead.

MEC Ewan Botha joined the Independent Living Seminar this morning, bringing together government, Independent Living Centres, civil society and persons with disabilities to advance dignity, choice and independent living across Gauteng.

Addressing the gathering for the first time as Champion for People Living with Disabilities and Older Persons’ Rights, MEC Botha stressed that inclusion means removing the barriers that prevent people from participating fully and leading their own lives.

“If we can remove the barrier, it will become painfully clear that the person was never the problem to begin with.”

And his challenge to government was clear:
“Remove the barrier, build the opportunity, strengthen the support, then get out of the way.”

▶️ Watch the keynote address.
NothingAboutUsWithoutUs InclusiveGauteng

CLEAN AIR IS A QUALITY-OF-LIFE ISSUE. 💨🌍The air we breathe is invisible, but its impact is not.It is felt in our homes, ...
08/09/2026

CLEAN AIR IS A QUALITY-OF-LIFE ISSUE. 💨🌍

The air we breathe is invisible, but its impact is not.

It is felt in our homes, our schools, our workplaces and our communities. It affects our health, our environment, our economy and ultimately, the quality of life of every person who calls Gauteng home.

As we mark the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, MEC for Environment Ewan Botha reaffirms Gauteng’s commitment to tackling air pollution and advancing a province where environmental wellbeing is inseparable from human wellbeing.
Because where you live should never determine the quality of the air you breathe, or how well and how long you live.

Cleaner air means healthier children. Healthier families. More resilient communities. And a Gauteng that is healthier, greener and better prepared for the future.

The goal is simple: blue skies above us, cleaner air around us, and healthier communities because of it. 🍃
PublicHealth HealthyCommunities CleanAir SustainableGauteng MakingEnvironmentEveryonesBusiness GrowingGautengTogether MECEwanBotha

07/09/2026

🎥 WATCH | New week. Same air. Shared responsibility. 🌍🍃

As we step into a new week, we revisit a message from MEC Ewan Botha at the SADC Exploratory Workshop on the 2025 G20 ECSWG Ministerial Declaration on Air Quality, one that remains as relevant beyond the workshop room as it was inside it:

“The air over our region integrated a long time ago. The question is whether we do the same.”

It was a call to move beyond borders, silos and declarations, and towards the partnerships, shared systems and collective action required to protect the air we all breathe.

Because clean air cannot be achieved by one municipality, one province or one country acting alone. And as the MEC reminded delegates, an exploratory conversation only has value when something follows it.

This Monday, the challenge remains: turn commitments into cooperation, and cooperation into action.

▶️ Watch MEC Botha’s opening remarks and hear why Southern Africa’s clean-air future depends on how well we choose to work together.
AirQuality RegionalCooperation EnvironmentalLeadership ClimateAction PublicHealth SustainableDevelopment GPEnvironment

04/09/2026

🎥 WATCH | “Progress must never become an excuse for complacency.”

Today at the Gauteng Legislature, MEC Ewan Botha tabled the 2025/26 Annual Reports of the Gauteng Department of Environment, the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and Dinokeng Projects, accounting not only for what was achieved, but also for where we must do better.

From strengthened environmental compliance and enforcement, to climate action, the circular economy, biodiversity protection, job creation and the performance of our heritage and conservation assets, the message was clear: targets matter, but ultimately our work must translate into a difference Gauteng residents can see and feel on the ground.

▶️ Watch MEC Botha’s address as he reflects on the year behind us, confronts the gaps that remain, and sets the standard for the work ahead.
GrowingGautengTogether MakingEnvironmentEveryonesBusiness GPEnvironment MECEwanBotha

📰🌿 THE LATEST ENVIRO NEWS IS HERE!Issue 64 of EnviroNews, published by the Gauteng Department of Environment, brings you...
04/09/2026

📰🌿 THE LATEST ENVIRO NEWS IS HERE!

Issue 64 of EnviroNews, published by the Gauteng Department of Environment, brings you the latest environmental programmes, enforcement operations and conservation stories from across the province.

Inside this issue:

🟢 Gauteng launches Grade 5 Environmental Management Inspectors to strengthen enforcement
🟢 N1 roadblock uncovers six illegally transported warthogs and two fi****ms
🟢 MEC Ewan Botha intensifies the fight against litter and illegal dumping
🟢 Sci-Bono introduces learners to careers in science and environmental management
🟢 Discover the biodiversity and tourism offerings of Alice Glockner Nature Reserve

Swipe through and stay informed about the work being done to protect Gauteng’s environment and communities.

EnvironmentalCareers Biodiversity GrowingGautengTogether

UITVALFONTEIN LANDFILLToday the Gauteng Department of Environment conducted a follow-up inspection at the Uitvalfontein ...
04/09/2026

UITVALFONTEIN LANDFILL

Today the Gauteng Department of Environment conducted a follow-up inspection at the Uitvalfontein landfill with Rand West City officials, Randfontein SAPS and the Department’s Environmental Management Inspectors.

The inspection assessed the ongoing situation following the landfill fire. There is still significant work to be done, particularly with sections of the site continuing to burn underground.

Government remains committed to resolving the situation, strengthening enforcement and ensuring that environmental risks to surrounding communities are addressed.

Environmental crime cannot become a community crisis.

📹 RECAP | YESTERDAY IN MERAFONGYesterday, MEC Ewan Botha joined the Gauteng Provincial Government’s Integrated Service D...
04/09/2026

📹 RECAP | YESTERDAY IN MERAFONG

Yesterday, MEC Ewan Botha joined the Gauteng Provincial Government’s Integrated Service Delivery IGR Compliance Blitz in Merafong, placing environmental compliance alongside public safety, service delivery and community engagement.

🚔 KHUTSONG ROADBLOCK
Officers reported recovering a Toyota stolen in Langlaagte in 2007 and identifying a Hyundai with a suspected fraudulent licence disc.

📍 CARLETONVILLE LANDFILL SITE
The delegation witnessed serious compliance challenges, including reported encroachment linked to illegal mining and the repeated theft of infrastructure required for the compliant operation of the facility.

The Gauteng Department of Environment will work with the municipality and engage the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on the interventions required.

🌿 ABE BAILEY NATURE RESERVE
The delegation visited one of Merafong’s important natural assets, placing environmental protection firmly on the service delivery agenda.

🗣️ KHUTSONG STADIUM
The programme concluded with a Community Imbizo, where government listened, engaged and accounted directly to residents.

From enforcement and environmental protection to community engagement—this was government on the ground, turning commitments into visible action. 💚

GrowingGautengTogether MECEwanBotha

03/09/2026

FINAL STOP: ABE BAILEY NATURE RESERVE 🌿

📹 WATCH | FROM THE GROUND: Before making our way to the community Imbizo, the final stop of today’s Integrated Service Delivery operation took MEC Ewan Botha and the team to the Abe Bailey Nature Reserve.

From the roadblock, to the serious compliance challenges at the Carletonville Landfill Site, and finally to one of Merafong’s important natural assets, today’s operation has put visible service delivery, environmental protection and compliance enforcement firmly on the ground.

But the work doesn’t end with site visits.

📍 We are now at Khutsong Stadium for the Community Imbizo, where government is taking the conversation directly to residents, to listen, engage and account on the issues affecting their communities.

From seeing the challenges first-hand to sitting across from the people we serve, this is government on the ground.
MakingEnvironmentEveryonesBusiness GrowingGautengTogether MECEwanBotha

03/09/2026

SECOND STOP: CARLETONVILLE LANDFILL SITE 🚨

📹 WATCH | HAPPENING NOW: The IGR Compliance Blitz continues in Merafong, and our second stop has brought us to the Carletonville Landfill Site, where the challenge is far bigger than illegal dumping.

The landfill has been heavily encroached upon by zama zamas, with structures and informal facilities established inside the site. The municipality is also battling the repeated theft of infrastructure installed to support the compliant operation of the facility.

For MEC Ewan Botha, what is unfolding here is no longer an environmental issue alone. It is a serious compliance and law-enforcement challenge that demands an integrated government response, with SAPS and other law-enforcement authorities joining today’s operation.

Landfill sites cannot be surrendered to lawlessness. Where environmental crime takes root, enforcement must follow.

The will now work alongside the municipality and engage the on the interventions required to address the situation.

The Merafong operation continues. Stay with us for updates from our next stops, and join us later at the Crime Imbizo at Khutsong Stadium.

03/09/2026

GPG IS HERE: MERAFONG! 🚨

📹 WATCH | HAPPENING NOW: The Gauteng Provincial Government is on the ground in Merafong for an Integrated Service Delivery IGR Compliance Blitz, turning commitments into visible action for communities.

MEC Ewan Botha joins the operation, with environmental compliance and enforcement taking priority alongside broader service delivery and public safety interventions.

📍 First stop: Roadblock
➡️ Next: Illegal landfill site
📢 Later: Crime Imbizo at Khutsong Stadium

From enforcement to environmental compliance and direct community engagement, today is about action where it matters most.

👀 Stay with us and follow our pages for updates from the ground throughout the day, then join us at the Imbizo later this afternoon.

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