SEDIBENG.- Gauteng residents face health risks following a persistent, foul smell resembling rotten eggs across the province.

Leanne De Jager, the DA Gauteng spokesperson for Environment, said that pinpointing the source is difficult because air quality monitors are not working.

According to De Jager, the stench comes from hydrogen sulphide, which can cause dizziness, headaches, and nausea, while worsening respiratory issues like asthma. The DA is demanding that MEC for Environment Ewan Botha step in to ensure all air quality monitoring stations function properly.

“Over the weekend, residents of Blairgowrie notified the DA that all City-owned stations measuring H₂S were offline. These include Buccleuch, Alexandra, Diepsloot, Ivory Park, Orange Farm, Davidsonville, Diepkloof, and Jabavu,” De Jager said.

Kliprivier was reportedly the only station still transmitting data, while working readings only came from the Springs Girls High School station, which the South African Air Quality Information System lists as owned by Sasol.

Hourly averages stayed above the 5.02 parts per billion odour thresholds cited by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment from early morning until mid-afternoon. When the wind direction shifted, readings jumped roughly tenfold to 28.22 parts per billion, with a one-minute peak reaching 36.2 parts per billion.

De Jager stressed that these numbers threaten residents, especially children and the elderly.

“This issue is not new, and the DA has raised it repeatedly. Our pleas for intervention have fallen on deaf ears. Wind direction alone cannot prove the source, and that is exactly the problem. MEC Botha’s department is meant to oversee air quality management in the province, yet nobody can show where this gas comes from. We do not know how much of it reaches Johannesburg homes, schools and clinics, or whether it is safe to breathe. This is a failure of provincial oversight.”

The DA plans to submit questions to Botha in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature regarding the non-functional monitoring equipment and will co-ordinate with national government counterparts to get stations working again.

“Air quality monitoring is not optional. It is a constitutional and statutory duty. Section 24 of the Constitution guarantees everyone an environment not harmful to their health. The National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act obliges the government to monitor, report, and enforce. A monitoring network that has been dark for weeks or months fails that duty, and the MEC is answerable for that failure,” De Jager said.

Residents can report similar incidents to the DA by emailing gpcomplaints@da.org.za.

Sedibeng Ster has sent an enquiry about the matter to the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) and is awaiting response.