Harvard academics bid to join Johannesburg Zoo case

Harvard Law School academics are expected to apply this week to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to be added as friends of the court in the ongoing legal battle to release the three elephants from the Johannesburg Zoo.

Green Scorpions target motocross track

The owner of a controversial motocross track between Plettenberg Bay and Knysna has been told to stop clearing indigenous vegetation without permission.

Sunshine Coast grapples with proposed name change costs

Changing the names of three towns in the Eastern Cape would cost R157m, Sunshine Coast Tourism has calculated, with some assistance from artificial intelligence.

Arrest of ‘rhino baron’ John Hume hailed

SA ‘rhino baron’ John Hume raised the world’s biggest private herd of more than 2 000 rhinos, betting to make a fortune by selling their horns legally to traders in the Far East.

SA pays R230m monthly water royalties to Lesotho

SA pays approximately R230m monthly in royalties to Lesotho for water from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, while Lesotho owes R513m in outstanding VAT refunds as of February 2024.

African penguins legal battle settled

The government, seabird conservation groups and the pelagic fishing industry have reached an agreement over fishing restrictions around six critical penguin breeding islands, reports GroundUp.

SLAPP suit against environmentalists withdrawn

A damages claim of R197m by a property development company against environmentalists has been withdrawn in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg), GroundUp writes.

Landmark ruling on fishing in protected area

The Bredasdorp Regional Court in the Western Cape has handed down a landmark ruling against Gqeberha-based fishing company Unathi-Wena Fishing, marking the first conviction for environmental degradation linked to illegal fishing within a Marine Protected Area (MPA).

Order halts repair work at heritage site

The replacement of the historic Salt River hall’s asbestos roof has come to a halt following Heritage Western Cape issuing a stop works order due to the necessary heritage approval not being in place, reports GroundUp.

Eskom tariff application shock for solar users

Eskom is to apply to the energy regulator, Nersa, for an overhaul of its electricity tariff structure that could have a massive impact on users that rely on solar power.

SCA hears over R1bn spent on Wild Coast project

British oil major Shell and its SA partner, Impact Oil and Gas, have told the SCA that just more than R1bn was already invested in their hunt for oil and gas off the Wild Coast, which was annulled by the Eastern Cape High Court (Makhanda) in 2022 after a challenge by environmental groups.

Ruling favours roads over toads

The Western Cape High Court has dismissed an attempt by Noordhoek environmentalists to set aside approval for a road link in an area where the endangered Western Leopard Toad breeds, reports GroundUp.

WC desalination plant dispute heads to arbitration

The dispute over the tender drafted by the City of Cape Town for a desalination plant at the V&A Waterfront will head to arbitration next year.

Harmony guilty of wastewater pollution

Harmony Gold has been found guilty of illegally discharging wastewater into the Voëlpan Dam in the Free State since 2019.

SPCA seizes Hout Bay seals

The SPCA obtained an order from the Wynberg Magistrate's Court allowing it to seize five seals which were being abused and exploited in the Hout Bay harbour.

Cape Winelands Airport seeks approval

The proposed redevelopment and expansion of the Cape Winelands Airport estimated to cost about R7bn has entered the next phase, with an application to the Department of Environmental Affairs & Development Planning for environmental approvals.

Dam disaster class action lawsuit ‘imminent’

Richard Spoor, whose public interest law firm, Richard Spoor Inc Attorneys, is representing families affected by last year’s Jagersfontein disaster, said he hoped to file its application for a class action suit against Jagersfontein Developments, which owns the diamond tailings reprocessing facility, within the next few weeks.

Karpowership loses interdict battle

Powergroup SA, the local empowerment partner of Karadeniz Holdings, majority shareholder in Karpowership SA, has failed in its bid to get a court interdict stopping the company taking back the shares held in a floating power plant.

Cape Town begins sea sewage hearings

The City of Cape Town has started public hearings on three marine outfalls which pump about nine million litres of sewage out to sea every day, reports GroundUp.

Municipalities count the cost of crippling load shedding

SA’s municipalities incurred about R1.1bn in overtime payments and spent R1.6bn to fix infrastructure damaged or stolen during load shedding.