Editorials
Nema has to do its job and stop plastics threat
Thursday November 09 2023
Goats rummage through a heap of garbage at Kwa Reuben, Embakasi South in Nairobi County. Nema has sounded an alarm about the return of banned plastic bags in the Kenyan market. FILE PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG
The warning by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) on the return of banned plastic bags in the Kenyan market is an admission of ineptitude on the part of the regulator and law enforcement teams.
Nema says that there is continued manufacturing and importation of these products for sale to households and small traders despite a ban that has been in place for more than six years.
This is unacceptable and paints a bad image of Nema and law enforcement agencies who are sleeping on the job.
Instead of sounding threats about the plastics menace, Nema should be dealing with the rogue individuals behind the illegal trade. It has regulatory and enforcement powers and should not just be giving threats. Law enforcement remains a weakness point among State agencies in Kenya. The endless plastics menace is a case in point.
In a governance system where the rule of law is respected, all persons and institutions are accountable to laws that are publicly pronounced, fairly enforced, and independently adjudicated.
The continued manufacturing and importation of banned plastics is an affront to the rule of law and Nema must discharge its mandate decisively.
The effects of these materials on the environment pose a threat to humans, and animals and also contribute to the blockage of rivers and drainage channels.
Nema should end the clumsiness and do its job to deal with the plastics menace. Threats and warnings aren’t enough.
