Polluters beware
…environmentalists want stiff penalty
BY TSITSI MATOPE
MASERU – Lesotho will join the rest of the world in creating systems that seek to strengthen control in the movement, use and disposal of various chemicals, which could pollute the environment if not properly managed.
Under the United Nations’ Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management adopted in 2006, countries would receive assistance in meeting the SAICM goal for sound integrated chemical management systems by 2020.
In an interview on Thursday last week, Director for the Environment Secretariat, Stanley Damane, said although the magnitude of mismanagement of chemicals in the country had not been properly assessed, the secretariat had reason to be concerned.
“Chemical pollution of the environment is evident and we want people to be aware that this has long-term effects on the food chain,” he said.
Damane said with sound management systems in place, the country could go a long way in eradicating poverty and disease and attain a healthy environment.
However, Lesotho – like many other African countries – faced challenges related to the availability of data and effective communication to users.
“Some of our management institutions are burdened by inadequate capacity to effectively monitor how chemicals are used.”
Damane said lack of cleaner production systems and technologies for waste management were also of major concern.
In addition, Damane said the management of obsolete chemicals, stockpiles and waste presented serious threats to the wellbeing of both people and the environment.
The threats came against the backdrop of increased production of hazardous chemicals by some countries delaying to introduce cleaner alternatives.
“However, although challenges are numerous, we still have to take the first step towards ensuring we boost surveillance and protection,” Damane said.
As a result, the secretariat – together with various other stakeholders – was currently drafting the Toxicants and Hazardous Chemicals Bill with its major focus on enhancing chemical management, Damane revealed.
So far, he explained, key inputs in the Bill included making polluting the environment “expensive” for both individuals and companies.
Ms Mamasheane Motabotabo, an environmental expert with the Environment and Tourism Ministry, strongly believes the “polluter-pays-principle” should be adopted in the Bill.
This, she explained, would see offenders bearing the costs of cleaning and resuscitating a damaged environment.
“Our environment is not safe because we still have to effectively deal with the disposal of toxic industrial waste, among other challenges,” Motabotabo said.
Currently, industrial waste is ferried to South Africa for proper disposal, while the environment ministry and other stakeholders look for suitable sites where a landfill could be established.
Motabotabo said funding for programmes meant to reduce environmental pollution was already in place.
She could not reveal figures.
Lesotho’s environment, among others, remains largely at risk to pollution by used vehicle oil, a practice rampant in most parts of the country, according to Motabotabo.
