By Nangamso Mabindla
16 October 2006

BUFFALO City celebrated the launch of the inaugural Air Quality Governance Lekgotla by becoming the first city in the Eastern Cape to have its own air quality monitoring station.

Launched on Monday, 16 October, the aim of the R900 000 state-of-the art air quality monitoring station is to gauge the quality of air in the city and to look at ways of handling pollution. The computerised controller will analyse the amount of pollution coming from the city's factories and the emissions from its cars.

The launch was attended by City councillors and officials, and representatives from private companies like DaimlerChrysler, Johnson and Johnson, Arcus Gibb, the East London Industrial Development Zone, a representative from the Nelson Mandela Metropole, and a councillor from Amathole District Municipality, Helen Neale-May.

Speaking at the event, the portfolio head for social services, Mankomo Pango, said that air quality management was important if residents were going to live in a clean environment.

"With this new air quality controller we will [have] monitoring equipment so that we can ensure that the emissions from the industries in our city do not become dangerous to our people," Pango said.

Using a computer that will gather emission information from factories, the air quality controller will be able to measure the amount of harmful gases in the atmosphere from the individual companies involved. Armed with this information the City would be able to approach companies emitting harmful gases into the atmosphere to lower the output of these gases.

Pango urged the City's partners to work with it in its efforts to keep the environment clean.

"We cannot do this alone; that is why I want to make this appeal to our partners from the business sector, non-governmental organisations, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and other partners to work with us in this initiative."

Neale-May commended the City for launching the air quality controller and for working closely with its partners, including her municipality.

"I would really like to commend the City for this bold initiative; it shows that it is serious about air quality. This also shows that the City does look at the needs of its people, thus proving true to its vision of ensuring that its citizens live in a healthy, clean and sustainable environment," she said.

After the formalities, acting mayor Andile Ntoni, Pango and Neale-May officially opened the monitoring station. Buffalo City hopes to launch another three monitoring stations in the near future.