Time to bite, NEMA has barked long enough!
Sep 21, 2010
EDITOR: I wish to respond to the National Environment Management Agency’s (NEMA) publication of the list of top polluters in the country, once again.
EDITOR: I wish to respond to the National Environment Management Agency’s (NEMA) publication of the list of top polluters in the country, once again.
Much as this is commendable, we need to see an environmental watchdog that takes issues to a higher level so as to deter further environmental pollution as well as to gain public confidence and trust as the national environmental watchdog.
To many Ugandans, NEMA has become a laughing stock because it has not been seen to exercise the powers entrusted to it protect the environment. Industrialists are not scared of NEMA’s inspectors anymore!
Publishing a list of top polluters and serving developers or industrialists with restraint or restoration orders is not new to them and does not scare them anymore. As in virtually every other area of Government regulation, environmental enforcement has been traditionally based on the theory of deterrence.
This theory assumes that persons and businesses act rationally to maximize profits, and will comply with the law only where the costs of noncompliance outweigh its benefits.
The job of enforcement agencies is to make both penalties and the probability of detection high enough that it becomes irrational and unprofitable to violate the law. There is no doubt that corruption and the general institutional collapse in Uganda are partly to blame because of some “untouchable†elements but NEMA should be able to shut down factories that persistently drain untreated effluent into lakes.
We want to hear of another story similar to Godfrey Nyakaana’s house. That will send very clear signals that the time for playing games is over. You either comply or ship out.
Which fines have industrialists paid recently due to noncompliance? The absence of deterrence-based enforcement, is the reason of today’s increased noncompliance cases. It is time for NEMA to start biting. We have heard it barking for long enough! Merely publishing the list of top polluters will not change the status quo.
Jamil M. Kusiima
jamil.kusiima@sustainadsug.com
Much as this is commendable, we need to see an environmental watchdog that takes issues to a higher level so as to deter further environmental pollution as well as to gain public confidence and trust as the national environmental watchdog.
To many Ugandans, NEMA has become a laughing stock because it has not been seen to exercise the powers entrusted to it protect the environment. Industrialists are not scared of NEMA’s inspectors anymore!
Publishing a list of top polluters and serving developers or industrialists with restraint or restoration orders is not new to them and does not scare them anymore. As in virtually every other area of Government regulation, environmental enforcement has been traditionally based on the theory of deterrence.
This theory assumes that persons and businesses act rationally to maximize profits, and will comply with the law only where the costs of noncompliance outweigh its benefits.
The job of enforcement agencies is to make both penalties and the probability of detection high enough that it becomes irrational and unprofitable to violate the law. There is no doubt that corruption and the general institutional collapse in Uganda are partly to blame because of some “untouchable†elements but NEMA should be able to shut down factories that persistently drain untreated effluent into lakes.
We want to hear of another story similar to Godfrey Nyakaana’s house. That will send very clear signals that the time for playing games is over. You either comply or ship out.
Which fines have industrialists paid recently due to noncompliance? The absence of deterrence-based enforcement, is the reason of today’s increased noncompliance cases. It is time for NEMA to start biting. We have heard it barking for long enough! Merely publishing the list of top polluters will not change the status quo.
Jamil M. Kusiima
jamil.kusiima@sustainadsug.com