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This document contains the heads of argument submitted by the First and Second Respondents (Groundwork Trust and Vukani Environmental Justice Alliance Movement in Action) to the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. The respondents argue that the Minister of Environmental Affairs has a legal duty under section 20 of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act and section 7(2) of the Constitution to promulgate regulations to implement and enforce the Highveld Plan. They seek to uphold a High Court judgment that declared the air quality in the Highveld Priority Area a breach of constitutional rights and ordered the Minister to produce enforcement regulations within 12 months.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted a statement to the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries on 28 April 2020, providing expert analysis of air quality and health impacts resulting from emissions at Eskom's Kendal power station. The document presents findings from two expert reports by Dr Ron Sahu and Dr Andrew Gray, highlighting significant exceedances of particulate matter (PM) limits and associated premature deaths and health risks in the Highveld Priority Area.

This document consists of a series of letters and a report summary from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) addressed to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). The CER, representing various environmental groups, argues that the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) has failed to improve air quality since its 2007 declaration. The CER demands the urgent implementation of regulations to enforce the 2012 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP), the elimination of 'rolling postponements' for emission standards granted to major polluters like Eskom and Sasol, and a formal response to the 'Broken Promises' report regarding the ongoing violation of constitutional rights to a healthy environment.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle Campaign, submitted a formal statement to the Portfolio Committee on Energy on 29 November 2017. The document outlines critical concerns regarding the lack of transparency, inadequate public consultation, and the omission of key economic and environmental data in the development of South Africa's draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for Electricity Update and the draft Integrated Energy Plan (IEP).

This October 2017 report by the Centre for Environmental Rights, groundWork, and the Highveld Environmental Justice Network evaluates the failure of the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) to improve air quality in South Africa. Despite the 2007 declaration of the HPA and the 2012 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP), the report concludes that air quality remains poor and non-compliant with health-based standards, largely due to industrial emissions, inadequate monitoring, and a lack of government capacity and enforcement.

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) analyzes the implementation of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA) in South Africa between January 2010 and August 2014. It details the challenges in accessing environmental governance and management records from government departments, parastatals, and private bodies, highlighting a trend of using the protection of third-party commercial information to refuse requests.

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) of South Africa responded to a request from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) to develop regulations for the implementation of the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP). The DEA declined this request, stating that the AQMP is a collaborative plan rather than a regulation and that existing air quality management tools are sufficient. The document also provides a detailed response to the 'Broken Promises' report, outlining progress in air quality governance, monitoring, and intergovernmental cooperation within the HPA.

This document is a submission from Sasol to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) detailing the company's objections to the requirement that existing industrial plants meet 'new plant standards' for emissions by April 1, 2020. Sasol argues that retrofitting old facilities is often technically impossible due to space and configuration constraints, economically unviable, and potentially counterproductive to other environmental goals, such as carbon footprint reduction and water conservation.

This April 2014 report is a draft motivation by Sasol Infrachem for exemption from the default application of certain Minimum Emissions Standards (MES) published in Government Notice No. 893 (GN 893) under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (NEMAQA). Sasol Infrachem argues that strict compliance with certain existing and new plant standards is technically or financially unachievable for specific point sources at its Sasolburg complex. The document proposes alternative emissions limits as license conditions and provides an Atmospheric Impact Report (AIR) to demonstrate that these alternatives maintain ambient air quality within National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

This document is a legal statement from the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (representing the National Department) responding to an application by several parties regarding air quality management in the Highveld Priority Area (HPA). The Minister defends the implementation of the Highveld Plan, arguing that the government has substantially complied with its goals through a co-operative governance model involving national, provincial, and municipal spheres, as well as private industry. The statement rejects the demand for additional regulations under section 20 of the Air Quality Act, asserting that existing tools and the progressive realization of environmental rights are sufficient. It also details the Minister's refusal to grant emission exemptions to Eskom and Sasol.

This report describes a project led by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to develop crime reduction strategies for two South African local governments, Highveld East and Uitenhage, following the 1998 White Paper on Safety. The project utilized community safety audits to identify priority crimes and resource gaps, revealing a stark divide between townships and suburbs in terms of crime types and police presence. While the project faced challenges due to political imperatives, local government restructuring, and a lack of national support, it concluded that municipalities are better suited for incremental participation in crime prevention rather than the supervisory and coordinating roles originally envisioned by national policy.