By Sara Melillo

Community activists have called on parliament to create a national system to manage and crack down on industrial polluters when they draft an Air Quality Management Bill, which is expected by the end of the month.

The organisers presented a memorandum of demands on Thursday to members of the portfolio committee on environmental affairs and tourism detailing ways to hold corporate polluters accountable.

The presentation marked the culmination of a two-day workshop at which community activists and NGOs from heavily polluted areas across the country gathered to discuss air quality issues.

'The problem with Cape Town is officials continue to run it like a town when it's a city'

The activists gathered with the hopes of pushing a community environmental agenda to counteract corporate interests.

"Special legislation has to be drafted to deal with these multinationals," said Ardiel Soeker of groundWork. "You can't deal with them like they're a garage at the end of the street."

The memo called for stricter environmental controls and penalties for corporate offenders.

They also asked companies to cover medical expenses and pay damages to those hurt by pollution.

Their memo said: "This will end current unjust practices such as sending home affected workers on short pay and forcing poor communities to bear the costs of their pollution-induced illnesses."

'Pollution has been attended to by relying on the south-easterly winds'

Morning Star resident Paul Hoffman railed against the Vissershok waste disposal site and Caltex refinery during his presentation. He said Table View, Parklands and Du Noon residents had suffered health ailments from the sites' pollution.

Hoffman said: "The problem with Cape Town is officials continue to run it like a town when it's a city.

"In the past pollution has been attended to by relying on the south-easterly winds. Just let the wind blow it away."

Portfolio committee members pledged to take the memo back to parliament for discussion.

They said they had to consider both industrial and community interests when drafting legislation.

MP Maxwell Moss said: "When there is development it has to be detrimental to the environment, but not to the extent that it wipes the environment away."

• This article was originally published on page 5 of The Cape Times on 03 April 2003