Why it is important to maintain tough social and environmental safeguards on road projects

By Monicah Elizabeth Seruma

As we all know and recognise that there is a need to safeguard the environment against severe negative impacts which is not only anchored in the national environmental and social laws, but also in the National Development Plan.

This is reason why at the Uganda National Roads Authority, environmental and social safeguards issues have jumped to the front of the queue of the boxes we must tick for every road project handled, in accordance with the law.

There is now a department to develop, disseminate, review and up-date environmental and social management systems, as well as monitor the compliance of our road works contractors with the procedures set therein in line with international standards and the national legal framework.

Key among the work sites which are now the centre of our focus on the road projects are the camp site, the quarry and all along the road.

Section 13 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2006, obligates an employer to ensure health, safety and welfare of persons at the workplace, and the National Environment Act 1995 requires an environmental assessment for operation of a quarry. Therefore, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) certificates, work place registration and safety are key legal requirements.

Workers also need appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and the Employment Act 2006 also spells out a number of measures which must be complied with, but the best approach is to strive and meet internationally accepted standards.

National and international environmental and social requirements on most projects has in the past fallen short of consistent documentation, capacity building, review and up-date of its procedures as well as strict follow-up on implementation by the contractors.

This is now being integrated into environmental and social considerations into project design and implementation, and contractors are being instructed to provide all workers with contracts spelling out the terms and conditions of their engagement.

Contractors will now be required to conduct baseline studies in project areas as a basis for determining appropriate pay. This will be coupled with emphasis on protected equipment and contractors will be required to have workers compensation and all risk insurance policies, as well as to provide adequate water and sanitation facilities.

The contractors are also required to develop and implement various plans including the Gender Action Plan, Occupational Health and Safety Plan, and for injurious affections management.

Monthly inspections and annual compliance visits are being done on all projects. The focus is now is to work towards having joint inspections with relevant institutions.

However, there have been instances where contractors have only strived to meet the requirements for a statutory approval but fallen short on actual implementation; errant contractors have established facilities without the necessary permits or licenses despite the fact that all road projects can only commence after approval of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Plan.  This has largely been because UNRA was in the past faced with challenges of monitoring compliance, which are now being demanded that contractors strictly adhere to environmental and social requirements set out in the contracts; where compliance fails, they will have to pay for the resultant damage to the environment, workers and affected communities.

This will ensure that injurious affections are prevented and proactive actions are identified to avoid causing environmental and social damage. Where such mitigating measures fail, affected persons will be compensated.

UNRA is now working with stakeholders like the Ministry of Gender and Social Development, Police, Uganda AIDS Commission, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Civil Society Organisations, Local Governments as well as the affected communities to strengthen interventions which will mitigate vulnerability of children affected by projects.

There is also a deliberate dissemination of information to communities at project inception, of the likely risks and benefits of any project in their area prior to the commencement. Sensitisation of the risks covering aspects of community health and road safety among others, and prior-informed consent is required before works start.

In addition, contractors are required to prepare and implement plans for continuous community sensitisation. That sensitisation includes, among others things, HIV and AIDS for which we have experts on every road project.

The writer is the head of environment and social safeguards at the Uganda National Roads Authority