The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has disputed the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s claim that air quality in the Gqeberha harbour is broadly noncompliant, saying its own five-year dust monitoring data shows most sites remain within legal limits.
However, it acknowledged that the ore berth had experienced intermittent exceedances due to equipment failures and adverse wind conditions.
TNPA was responding to a report by the municipality’s air quality monitoring unit, which revealed a worsening dust crisis in Markman and the port, with officials warning that nearby suburbs were being exposed to serious health risks.
Earlier in June, public health acting air pollution manager Msimelelo Buhlungu tabled a report detailing the 2025 dust fallout status in the Markman industrial area, along with ambient air quality readings for April 2026.
The report drew on dust monitoring data from December 2025 and January 2026 to assess the current state of the airshed.
It also flagged significant health risks for nearby residential communities.
The report was compiled by acting public health executive director Anna-Lisa Dyakala.
The data showed that despite ongoing monitoring and enforcement action — including compliance notices and the shutdown of unauthorised operations — dust emissions from manganese ore handling, storage and transport had continued unabated.
Buhlungu said dust samples collected in the harbour also exceeded regulatory limits, indicating persistent air quality problems.
“The status of the air quality in the harbour shows chronic non-conformance with the dust control standards, which carries a litigation risk for the municipality,” he said.
“It poses a health risk to workers in the harbour and to residents in nearby communities.”
He warned that the municipality faced a difficult decision when the air emission licences for the harbour’s manganese bulk storage facilities expired in June 2027.
“It would be very risky for the municipality to renew these authorisations knowing they pose a health risk to the community and expose the municipality to possible litigation,” Buhlungu said.
For years, manganese dust has blanketed roads, businesses and homes across the city.
This has prompted repeated warnings from residents about health risks, property damage and a declining quality of life.
The black ore dust has become a familiar sight in Markman’s industrial area, coating roads and buildings around the harbour and fuelling persistent complaints from communities including South End, Humewood, Bluewater Bay and Swartkops.
Since 2020, residents have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the pollution, demanding stronger enforcement and action from authorities.
Transnet corporate affairs manager Sakhiwo Tetyana defended the entity’s environmental management practices, saying it conducted continuous monthly dust monitoring at 11 sites within the bulk terminal at the harbour and eight additional monitoring points in nearby residential areas.
The authority said its five-year monitoring data showed dust fallout levels generally remained within legal limits, except for intermittent exceedances at the ore berth, which it attributed to equipment breakdowns and adverse wind conditions.
“Based on a five-year monitoring record, the average dust fallout levels across these monitoring points are generally below the prescribed limit [of 1,200 mg/m²/day] except the monitoring point located at the ore berth, which has shown intermittent exceedances caused by inter alia the equipment breakdowns and/or wind directions,” Tetyana said.
“In addition, there are eight monitoring points located in residential areas within a 2km radius of the port.
“These sites are required to comply with the stricter residential limit of 600mg/m²/day.
“A five-year trend analysis indicates that the average dust fallout levels at these residential monitoring points remain within the prescribed limits.
“These monitoring outcomes demonstrate that, while localised challenges persist in specific operational areas such as the ore berth, overall air quality conditions in surrounding residential areas are largely within regulatory requirements.
“To mitigate manganese dust emissions is a difficult decision when the air emission licences for the harbour’s manganese bulk storage facilities expire in June 2027.”
Tetyana said all terminal operators were required to hold air emission licences (AELs) issued by the municipality, which imposed strict emission limits and operational conditions.
Responding to allegations of illegal manganese operators, Tetyana said Transnet was unaware of any unauthorised operators within the harbour.
“TNPA takes any allegations of unauthorised manganese operators in the port precinct very seriously.
“TNPA is not aware of any operators currently conducting manganese export activities without the necessary port authorisations.
“Any allegations received are investigated in collaboration with relevant regulatory authorities.
“Where noncompliance is identified, TNPA mandates the relevant operator to implement corrective actions and escalate through legal channels.
“As part of its oversight and stakeholder engagement responsibilities, the port maintains a structured platform to address matters related to dry bulk operations, including manganese handling and associated legal, environmental and health considerations.”
Regarding the future of manganese handling, Tetyana reiterated that Transnet’s long-term strategy was to relocate manganese exports to the Port of Ngqura.
He said the private-sector partnership process was at an advanced stage and was expected to go to market during 2026, with the new terminal anticipated to be commissioned in 2030/2031.
Meanwhile, DA councillor Annette Lovemore wrote to the human rights commission calling for an urgent investigation into manganese dust pollution in the Bay, arguing that it constituted a breach of residents’ constitutional right to an environment that was not harmful to their health.
She wrote that despite earlier dust surveys indicating excessive levels in Markman posed a health risk, the municipality had delayed replacing vandalised air quality monitoring equipment.
No air quality results had been reported to the public health committee of the Nelson Mandela Bay council for well over a year, she said.
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