EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
Continued from page 27
A COMMON GOAL
The workshop was officially opened by
Obed Baloyi, chief director Chemical
Management at the Department of
Environmental Affairs, on 24 October. In his
opening remarks, Baloyi stressed that, at a
practical implementation level, it is a fact
that chemicals respect no borders, and
thus as SADC, we need to work together
towards this common goal of managing
chemicals in an environmentally sound
manner throughout their life cycle. Not only
the ones prioritised in the various multilateral
environmental agreements that we are
party to, but also on any other chemicals
that might be a challenge within the region.
The scourge of illegal use and
subsequent adverse effects of highly toxic
chemicals has been reported not only in the
most vulnerable populations predominantly
staying in squatter camps or shanty towns
when they are trying to control rodents, but
also on our wildlife.
Cecilia Njenga, head of the UN Environment
office in South Africa, and Memory Ndou
from the South African Revenue Service
(SARS) within the Customs and Excise
division, both emphasised the importance
of strengthening coordination with NOUs to
ensure effective management and control
of quotas and prevention of HCFC-based
equipment and ultimately enforcement of
ODS regulations.
Patrick Salifu, regional network
coordinator for Anglophone Africa of
the UN Environmental Protection Agency
(UNEP), steered the ship towards the
attainment of the set workshop objectives
and highlighted the need for active
participation by all participants.
BILATERAL DISCUSSIONS
All NOU/Customs representatives got a
chance to present and showcase the state
of enforcement at their ports of entries,
and implementation of HPMPs specifically
on the monitoring aspects. Furthermore,
they highlighted the gaps and concerns
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
From left: Memory Ndou (South Africa Customs); Dr Ezra Clark (OzonAction); Margaret Molefe
(DEA); Cynthia Ngoma (Zambia Customs); and Patrick Salifu (UNEP).
around the trade of HCFCs and ODS-based
equipment among the SADC region. One
of the burning issues raised was the illegal
exports of HCFC-based equipment to other
countries where they were banned, goods
in transit, and data discrepancies.
To get to the root cause of the data
discrepancies, bilateral discussions were
held among countries, going into the
nuts and bolts of the matter. Data was
thoroughly compared, looking into data
and companies that are involved in relation
to the alleged illegal imports/exports of
ODSs and equipment.
One of the issues highlighted during the
bilaterals was that there is a need to monitor
companies that operate in a number
of countries. They will now be closely
monitored as to whether they have quotas
and legal documentation to import HCFCs.
On the second day of the workshop, Ezra
Clark of UNEP also handed out a multiple-
choice test to those in attendance to
assess their knowledge on ODSs and
related topics. Clark ran the workshop
while the bilaterals happened next door,
A practical component was undertaken by customs and environmental inspectors to test
refrigerants by using a portable analyser.
A practical component was undertaken
by customs and environmental inspectors
to test refrigerants by using a portable
analyser. It was clear from the practical
session that the countries are driving
towards a united front against illegal trade
of ODSs.
PRACTICAL SESSION
COLD LINK AFRICA • March/April 2019
Ezra Clark of UNEP showing participants
of various countries how the analysing
equipment should be used.
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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