Body in offing to handle environmental issues

Shortly after establishing the environmental policy last year, government plans to introduce a legal mechanism to deal with all cases pertaining to environmental conflicts in the country.

The Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office (Environment), Dr Terezya Huvisa

The Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office (Environment), Dr Terezya Huvisa

Minister of State in the Vice- President’s Office responsible for Environment, Dr Theresa Huvisa, said in Dar es Salaam on Friday that the Environmental Tribunal will be responsible in dealing with environmental cases currently handled by the Land Division of the High Court.

She was responding to concerns raised by the Parliamentary Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources who toured the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) on Friday, calling for concerted efforts in dealing with environmental issues.

According to Dr Huvisa, NEMC is overwhelmed with the number of environmental conflicts and calls for deliberate move to solve them timely and in efficient manner.

“We are facing a lot of threats and intimidation while executing environmental conservation programmes. Last year we introduced a special environmental policy and we are now considering establishing an organ which will solely deal with environmental cases,” she said.

The minister revealed the plan as MPs demanded to know who were behind the countless conflicts and scandals troubling the ministry and NEMC and plans to mitigate them.

Dr Huvisa did not mince words as she reported that some heavyweight people are behind top and very senior government officials and are notorious for invading open spaces and violating environmental laws and regulations.

Earlier, NEMC Director General Eng. Bonaventure Baya told the Committee that financial constraints facing the Council are a stumbling block in ensuring effective environmental management in the country.

Mr Baya said so far since the Council started operating under the new Act, about 700 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificates have been issued but the Council can only monitor the implementation of 100 of them.

Dr Baya said NEMC is now besieged with many obstacles in implementation of its programmes, calling for immediate assistance to contain the situation.

The Committee Chairman and MP for Kahama, Mr James Lembeli pledged maximum support to the Council and vowed the Committee will fight hard to see its budget as well as that of the parent Ministry being increased.

“The committee is not happy over the financial situation of the Council as many programmes await implementation under government strategies like the Big Results Now.

We promise to address this satiation and will soon meet the Vice-President to see how to go about it,” he said. MPs said without clean environments no tangible project can be equitably implemented.

By PIUS RUGONZIBWA, Tanzania Daily News

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