The Estcourt District Court in KZN has fined a local farmer close to R2 million for the unlawful use of water.
NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says the court sentenced 74-year-old farmer Roy Clifford Braithwaite to a fine of R1,77 million after he was convicted of contravening the National Water Act.
She says he was arrested after the matter came to light and the Department of Water and Sanitation laid a complaint.
Ramkisson-Kara says between September 2018 and May 2021, Braithwaite unlawfully used water from the nearby Wagon Drift dam to water 127 hectares of crop on his farm
She says the District Court Prosecutor Lindokuhle Mzila led the evidence of a Senior State Accountant from the Department of Water and Sanitation who testified that the prejudice suffered by the department as a result of Braithwaite’s unlawful activity, amounted to approximately R1 770 000.
The court thus convicted him accordingly and asked to him to pay the fine.
