Experiencing clean skies during lockdown has been inspiring. Fewer vehicles on the highways and byways has meant less pollution and easier breathing. As South Africans, we should no longer tolerate vehicles without catalytic converters.
Government should legislate soonest to introduce strict vehicle emission legislation, as enlightened countries around the world have done. After all, we assemble cars locally, we manufacture autocatalysts locally and legislating that all the vehicles be fitted with autocats would also boost our wonderful platinum group metals endowment.
Good health plus economic stimulus is just what the country needs right now. State-owned power stations should also be forced to adhere to our own air pollution legislation. How have they got away with it for so long? If Covid-19 has done nothing else, it has alerted the world to the critical importance of good human health.