Kaveera ban faces early setback as traders overpower NEMA

Jul 31, 2015

Barely four months after announcing a total ban on carrier bags (kaveera), environmental watchdog NEMA has admitted it might be fighting a losing battle


By John Masaba

Barely four months after announcing a total ban on carrier bags (kaveera), environmental watchdog NEMA has admitted it might be fighting a losing battle, something it is blaming on 'uncooperative' sister government agencies.

Government in April effected a total ban on plastics, blaming the material for environmental degradation.

Following the ban, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) began the exercise of confiscating carrier bags usually given for free by supermarkets and shops, forcing shoppers to resort to environment-friendly recyclable bags.

After clamping down on plastics in the city, NEMA said it was moving to upcountry centres in a bid to rid the entire country of the menacing material.

However, after nearly a month of activity, the exuberance with which the Authority started its work started to die down, despite the ban receiving overwhelming support from the public.

NEMA spokesperson, Naome Karekaho, told New Vision that they were forced to scale down on their activities because some actors in the trade ministry were frustrating the campaign.

"We achieved a lot in the first phase but we have found it hard to carry on because lobbyists in the ministry have stampeded our efforts," she said, without giving details.

Without support from the ministry, she added, it has become difficult to take their campaign beyond the city.  She claimed the violators of the ban are enjoying support from the ministry, making it difficult for the Authority to confiscate their kaveera stocks and cause their arrest.

She claimed many people that had earlier heeded the ban are now restocking on kaveera, undoing the progress they had achieved at the inception of the ban. 

UMA's stance

New Vision has learnt that Uganda Manufacturer's Association (UMA) wants NEMA to ditch the clamp down and instead push for enacting of laws to punish people who litter and dispose of kaveera in the environment. But NEMA is against such route, saying it is difficult to enforce.

According to statistics from UMA, the polythene has attracted an investment of $8.5m (about sh25b). The industry, they say, employs 2,800 people as fulltime employees and another 6,000 as part-time workers in the production, transport and recycling.

Trade ministry permanent secretary Ambassador Julius Onen declined to comment. "I cannot comment on that matter because it is currently before Cabinet."

Ssebagala Kigozi, the executive director of UMA, could not be reached for a comment as his known number was off.

NEMA however said it will continue with the campaign albeit with a more relaxed approach by embarking on sensitization of public about dangers of the kaveera to the environment.

"The public out there are fully supportive of the campaign. We want to exploit that with mass awareness. With time we believe consumption of the kaveera will die down and force manufacturers to close shop," said Karekaho. 

According to statistics from NEMA, approximately 39,600 tonnes of polythene waste is released into the environment and most of it accumulates in the soil each year in Uganda.

The littered polythene bags block drainage systems and degrade the soil by reducing the amount of water flowing into the earth.

The Authority claims ordinary plastic bags and packaging can take up to 400 years to degrade when they are improperly discarded.

Government first banned kaveera six years ago, but the ban was not effected until early this year.

In 2009, former finance minister Syda Bbumba had said in her 2009 budget speech that all importation and production of all polythene materials had been banned, arguing that they pose a danger to the environment and violate the citizens' right to a clean environment.

However, this was not implemented following protests from the business community.
 

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