CPUT’s Environmental Management Department is at the forefront of training in environmental legislation with its Green Scorpions Programme.

The three-week programme, which was offered for the second time at CPUT earlier this term, is aimed at equipping qualified environmental managers with the skills to manage specific environmental laws that had been amended.

Listed as the Environmental Management Inspectors (EIM) training programme, it attracted a total of 38 participants from the Western Cape, Gauteng and Northern Cape.

Among the attendees were environmental officers from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, City of Cape Town, Eden District Municipality, Cape Nature, City of Ekurhuleni Municipality and Fezile Dabi District Municipality.

Five BTech: Environmental Management students from CPUT, who received a programme bursary, also attended the course.

This year’s EMI training focused on air quality. The training prepares the inspectors to conduct inspections, do thorough investigations and to prepare prosecutable case dockets to ensure environmental criminals serve the terms they deserve for damage done to the environment.

According to Chamuwari Ketano, a lecturer in the Environmental Management Department, EMIs must monitor compliance with and enforce the specific environment legislation they have been mandated to enforce in their designations by the minister or the relevant MEC.

The training covered a number of topics, which included an overview of environmental, constitutional, criminal and administrative law; principles of integrated environmental management; the mandate, functions, duties and powers of an EMI.

Conducting thorough investigations and collecting evidence that will stand up in court, legal requirements for search and seizure for arrest, giving evidence in court and using the EMI network and resources for efficient enforcement were also covered in the training.

After the training, EMIs can be mandated to enforce a range of legislations depending on their particular functions, including the National Environmental Management Act, the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 10 of 2004; the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2004 and its regulations and the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 39 of 2004.

Ketano said: “This was CPUT’s second successful delivery of the training.”

Last year, the department enrolled 43 students into the course.

CPUT, the University of South Africa and the University of Pretoria are the only institutions accredited to provide the programme, which has been listed as the Environmental Management Inspectorate’s Certificate in Environmental Compliance and Enforcement.

Due to the successful implementation of CPUT’s programme, the Ekurhuleni Municipality and Cape Nature have requested that CPUT offer the programme in their departments.

By Andiswa Dantile

Written by CPUT News
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Landfill gas, with its high methane content, can pose a threat to humans through explosions, combustion or asphyxiation.

This was the focus of the Landfill Gas Harvesting workshop that took place at the CPUT auditorium on the Bellville campus recently.

The workshop was organised by the Waste Management students as part of their assessment on 7 October 2009.

This was the first landfill gas harvesting workshop in Cape Town

The workshop focused on creating awareness about the dangers of methane gas which may be the result of a gas that comes out of landfills.

Also, the event showed attendees what has been previously done regarding the landfill gas, what is currently underway and what may be possible in the future.

The Waste Management department emphasised that there is a significant amount of money that can be made by operators through mining landfill liabilities and turn them into garbage gold

Jacob Seccona, CPUT Environmental Department’s head said: “This is the first workshop ever organised in CPUT. We need more workshops like these in order to create awareness at municipalities as it is only Ethekwini Municipality that is doing something about landfill gas harvesting.”

CPUT’s Environmental Management Department, which presents the Waste Management course to environmental officers who come from all over the country, helped the students organise the workshop.

Kagisho Motingwe, a student who also works for the City of Cape Town as a principal technician, was the steering committee manager for the workshop.

“Putting together this workshop was an assignment on its own for us as it is part of the continuous evaluation of students, which forms part of the year mark,” said Motingwe.

The workshop targeted municipalities, non-governmental organisations and private sector entities involved in waste management in general, but specifically landfill management and subsequently expanded to students as well.

Motingwe said the objective of the workshop was to create a discussion around landfill gas in South Africa, and to stimulate that relevant guest speakers were invited.

Five speakers shared the stage, touching on the social and environmental externalities of landfill gas, carbon loads and carbon credits, civil impact on landfill gas harvesting and also creating a climate for innovation and change.

According to Motingwe, the idea behind the workshop was to look at the economic side of landfill gas harvesting, the social side and the ethical side of it.

Among the guest speakers was CPUT’s lecturer Dr Lee-Anne Seeliger who spoke around the ethical side of landfill gas.

By Andiswa Dantile

Written by CPUT News
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Following a rigorous selection process, two CPUT academics have been awarded full doctoral scholarships under the auspices of the University Capacity Development Programme. 

Rendani Mulaudzi, a lecturer in the Environmental Management Department and Tabisa Ncubukezi, a Junior Lecturer in the Information Technology Department have been awarded the new United States – South Africa Doctoral Programme.

The successful duo will be supported towards the completion of their PhD degrees and will also benefit from attending professional development courses such as writing for publication, grant writing skills, postgraduate supervision and research skills. 

The supervision of their work will take on a group and collaborative approach, including co-supervision. They will also spend one to three months at a partner institution in the United States (US).

The new programme has been approved by the Department of Higher Education and Training and includes a network of 12 US universities and 18 South African universities that will work together to implement 12 doctoral programmes to enable 100 existing academic staff to complete their doctoral qualifications. Funding of R57.2 million has been allocated to this programme. 

Profs Monwabisi Ralarala, Director at Fundani, and Dina Burger, Research Director, who are jointly responsible for the programme at CPUT, say they believe the two academics have received a once in a lifetime opportunity to advance their doctoral degrees and they will be excellent ambassadors for their respective faculties and the university.

“These two colleagues would be the first recipients of this award and the institution is committed to give them all the support they need to facilitate their successful participation in this programme.  We wish them all the best with their doctoral studies going forward,” said Burger.

Ncubukezi says she feels fortunate to have been selected for the new programme and the opportunity will allow her to pursue her dreams. “I plan to continue my IT education and eventually build a career in the research and development area. With this scholarship, your generosity and support will help me focus on my research.”

Burger, Ralarala and the two academics will join their counterparts from other universities in the programme when the programme launches in Johannesburg in July. 

Written by Kwanele Butana
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