{"id":868734,"date":"2026-08-05T11:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T09:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=868734"},"modified":"2026-08-05T11:05:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T09:05:56","slug":"r118-billion-south-african-giant-under-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/868734\/r118-billion-south-african-giant-under-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"R118 billion South African giant under fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is preparing a new court battle against Sasol over alleged chemical dumping in the Vaal River system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department plans to launch the legal salvo in September 2026, after having provisionally withdrawn the charges in 2025 for further investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, new evidence has emerged, including sixteen new witness statements, expanded pollution investigations, and an inquiry into possible falsehoods by Sasol officials to inspectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sasol\u2019s Group Executive Committee and the DFFE briefed the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (PPCFFE) on Tuesday (4 August) on these developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The matter is a long-standing dispute that arose from a whistleblower complaint submitted to the DFFE in May 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whistleblower alleged that Sasol had been dumping hazardous chemicals and had personally victimised them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This led to a lengthy environmental investigation and a six-count criminal indictment against Sasol in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although criminal proceedings commenced that year, the state provisionally withdrew the charges on the trial date in July 2025 to investigate newly submitted witness evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DFFE is currently reviewing this evidence, with plans to reintroduce the case to the court after September 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DFFE has published a technical dossier claiming that Sasol unlawfully discharged waste containing vanadium, diethanolamine, and potassium carbonate into its stormwater system.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This alleged discharge reportedly caused significant environmental pollution and elevated vanadium levels in the Klipspruit River, which flows into the Vaal River system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sasol firmly denies that any pollution pathway exists. The company asserted that the Benfield plant is equipped with multiple physical containment measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes bunded storage, chemical sewers, oily water systems, and API Dams 1 and 2, all designed to ensure that contaminated water is contained, treated, and reused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sasol also pointed out that a previous inquiry by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) into this matter concluded in 2021 without adverse findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DFFE said that its criminal investigation began after Sasol had already repaired a faulty valve, which prevented the department from collecting immediate physical samples at the alleged discharge point.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had to build its case using historical water samples, SAP system reports, and technical audit data.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DFFE is actively investigating whether officials from Sasol provided false or misleading information to inspectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six counts against Sasol<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Count 3 of the criminal indictment charges Sasol with victimising, harassing, and unlawfully dismissing a whistleblower for disclosing environmental risks in good faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to ongoing intimidation and serious concerns for his personal safety, the whistleblower was formally admitted into the national Witness Protection Programme in April 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sasol said it rejects the retaliation narrative, arguing that the chronology of events does not support a causal link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chemical company argued that the whistleblower was never dismissed but left voluntarily in July 2020 under a mutual separation agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said that his transfer from the Benfield plant in 2017 was requested by the whistleblower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disciplinary hearings that began in August 2018, which were related to workplace misconduct, were completely unrelated to the disclosures, it said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sasol added that the concerns were investigated through both internal and external ethics channels and were found to be unsubstantiated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Sasol holds valid Waste Management Licenses, the DFFE emphasised that under Section 53 of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (NEMWA), it will formally review these licenses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This review may include potential amendments, suspensions, or revocations once the criminal case is concluded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DFFE also highlighted systemic challenges, noting that the effectiveness of environmental law is hindered by lengthy criminal court proceedings and fragmented regulatory oversight across provincial and local authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, Sasol reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to environmental compliance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company said that it operates under stringent regulatory oversight, submits monthly reports, pays carbon taxes, and has met the relevant standards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is planning on bringing a 2019 case against Sasol back to court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":868755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2084929160271573330","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2167298780757188","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18062611499723692","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9874],"tags":[25521,26059,1968,2240],"class_list":["post-868734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-department-of-forestry-fisheries-and-the-environment","tag-ppcffe","tag-public-protector","tag-sasol"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868734"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":868899,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868734\/revisions\/868899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}