Manufacturers want ban on kaveera halted

By Henry Sekanjako

PLASTICS manufactures under their umbrella body Uganda Plastics Manufactures and Recyclers Association (UPMRA) have petitioned President Yoweri Museveni asking government to halt the ban on use of polyethene bags (kaveera) in the country.

In their petition a copy of which has been sent to Parliament’s committee on natural resources, the manufactures noted that the ban on kaveera use is not the solution, but rather the establishment of plastic waste recycling plants in the country for waste management.

Last month the executive director of National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Dr. Tom Okurut told the Parliament’s committee on Natural resources, that government would enforce the ban on the use, production and distribution of polythene bags starting next week.

According to Okurut, NEMA had several meetings with the owners of supermarket chains in the country on phasing out the use of polythene bags in their outlets to which a common understanding and acceptance of the ban had been reached.

In her 2009 budget, the then minister of finance, Syda Bbumba announced a total ban on the importation and production of all polythene materials of less than 30 microns, with effect from July 1, 2009. The Finance Act, 2009 was subsequently passed by Parliament to give legal effect to the ban.

However in their petition the manufactures advised that the ban would affect many Ugandans especially manufactures who have invested highly in recycling plants.

“We have heavily invested in the purchase of recycling plants to cater for waste management, and this has created more jobs and turned waste disposal and management into wealth,” stated Naim Sabra the Treasurer of UPMRA.

The manufactures pointed out smuggling into the country of plastic the bags of less than 30 microns and as low as 10 microns as their biggest challenge saying it creates  a lot of competition in the Ugandan market yet local manufactures are prohibited from producing below 30 microns.

They added that the smuggling makes the locally produced kaveera more expensive compared to the ones smuggled into the country.

The manufactures are currently in discussions with the ministry of trade industry and cooperatives to draft a policy repealing the law waving the ban on the 30 microns and below.

“This will enable us compete with the neighboring Kenyan products that are highly smuggled into the country,” they stated in their petition.

Discussing the petition, the chairperson Parliament’s committee on natural resources Michael Werikhe said the committee will next week hold a national dialogue with different stake holders to share ideas on how effectively the issue of the ban can be dealt with.

According to Werikhe, there was need for government to review the law by making it mandatory for plastics manufactures to acquire waste management plants to protect the environment.

“It is very difficult to control the inflow of smuggled plastic bags in the country but we are saying the people who are producing these products should have the capacity to recycle the bags which are destroying the environment,” said Werikhe.

Polythene materials are known to have environmental and negative health impacts.  Generally, the bags do not readily decompose in the natural environment.