Africa-Press – South-Africa. A KwaZulu-Natal farmer has been fined more than R1.7 million for unlawfully using water from a nearby dam for his crops.
The Estcourt District Court fined Roy Clifford Braithwaite, 74, after he was convicted of contravening the National Water Act.
The court heard that between September 2018 and May 2021, Braithwaite unlawfully used water from the nearby Wagendrift Dam to water 127 hectares of crops on his farm, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said.
He was arrested after the Department of Water and Sanitation laid a complaint, she said.
“In support of the State’s case, 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 R1.77 million,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
“The court thus convicted him accordingly and asked to him to pay the fine.”
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