NEMA orders Mukono mines to do audits
THE National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has ordered 26 quarries in Mukono district to conduct an audit of the safety of their mines.
By Joel Ogwang
THE National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has ordered 26 quarries in Mukono district to conduct an audit of the safety of their mines.
The executive director, Dr. Henry Aryamanya Mugisha, gave the order in a letter of June 17.
“You are, therefore, directed to immediately undertake an environmental audit of your quarry site and its associated activities, but in any case not later than 30 days from the date of this notice,†he said.
Mukono LC5 chairman Francis Lukooya suspended six quarries in Kyampisi sub-county for failing to conduct their environmental audits for 2007.
Residents of the sub-county have held several demonstrations over the ammonium explosives used by the quarries in blasting rocks.
They said their houses had been destroyed by the flying rocks. Three weeks ago, a flying rock shattered the leg of Ismail Kayima, 18. He was later amputated at Mulago Hospital in Kampala.
Flying stones from the Cementers quarry have also destroyed the roofs of Buntaba Primary School and Buntaba health centre, which are located nearby.
During a consultative meeting at the school recently, residents also claimed that their animals no longer mate and cows do not produce adequate milk because of the pounding sounds from the blasts.
In a letter copied to Lukooya and the resident district commissioner, Aryamanya Mugisha said the audits should be carried out by certified environmental practitioners registered with NEMA.
Before doing the audits, he directed the quarries to submit to the environment watchdog, their terms of reference and the names and qualifications of the people who would undertake the exercise.
Mugisha noted that the requirement for audits was an annual obligation provided in the Environmental Impact Assessment rules.
THE National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has ordered 26 quarries in Mukono district to conduct an audit of the safety of their mines.
The executive director, Dr. Henry Aryamanya Mugisha, gave the order in a letter of June 17.
“You are, therefore, directed to immediately undertake an environmental audit of your quarry site and its associated activities, but in any case not later than 30 days from the date of this notice,†he said.
Mukono LC5 chairman Francis Lukooya suspended six quarries in Kyampisi sub-county for failing to conduct their environmental audits for 2007.
Residents of the sub-county have held several demonstrations over the ammonium explosives used by the quarries in blasting rocks.
They said their houses had been destroyed by the flying rocks. Three weeks ago, a flying rock shattered the leg of Ismail Kayima, 18. He was later amputated at Mulago Hospital in Kampala.
Flying stones from the Cementers quarry have also destroyed the roofs of Buntaba Primary School and Buntaba health centre, which are located nearby.
During a consultative meeting at the school recently, residents also claimed that their animals no longer mate and cows do not produce adequate milk because of the pounding sounds from the blasts.
In a letter copied to Lukooya and the resident district commissioner, Aryamanya Mugisha said the audits should be carried out by certified environmental practitioners registered with NEMA.
Before doing the audits, he directed the quarries to submit to the environment watchdog, their terms of reference and the names and qualifications of the people who would undertake the exercise.
Mugisha noted that the requirement for audits was an annual obligation provided in the Environmental Impact Assessment rules.