Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) says it is lobbying to amend the Local Government Act to empower councils to penalise individuals and institutions that breach by-laws, including those governing pollution.

Malga executive director Hadrod Mkandawire in an interview yesterday said that the current Local Government Act does not fully empower councils’ to enforce compliance to some laws.

Mkandawire: Act does not empower us

He said the final validated draft Bill has an amendment proposing strengthening penalties councils can impose to those who breaching the by-laws.

Said Mkandawire: “It is our prayer and we don’t expect any meaning Malawian, regardless of political authority that they have, that they will be able to remove that provision.

“So our expectation is that we will still maintain those provisions that not only enhances the penalties for non-compliance with by-laws in terms of land pollution and other means of pollution, but also enhances the local government authorities’ ability and authority to ensure that citizens comply with payment of local taxes fees.”

Blantyre Water Board (BWB) is one of the institutions affected by pollution that for over two weeks the water utility stopped pumping water from its Mudi Dam in Blantyre.

A visit to Mudi Catchment Area yesterday found that some manufacturing companies particularly in Maone Industrial Park dispose of their wastes in the catchment area,

In a written response, BWB spokesperson Evelyn Khonje confirmed that the board temporarily stopped using Mudi Dam after noticing some oil intrusion at the Makhetha side of the dam.

She said BWB suspected that one factory was spilling oil that would lead to water pollution.

Said Khonje: “Once we found the spillage was a once off occurrence and that the factory in question was no longer spilling oil, we were able to resume usage of Mudi Dam.

In a separate interview, Blantyre City Council chief executive officer Denis Chinseu said the council faces a number of challenges to fight pollution in the city, including the current Local Government Act that pegs a maximum fine for pollution at K2 000.

He said: “We are trying to look at these bylaws, but also the K2 000 we are talking about is in the principal law which is the Local Government Act. So, I know government has advanced to make sure that we review the Local Government Act. The fines that are there are also making difficult for us to enforce the law.”

Studies by the African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology in 2013 and 2018 showed that water sources close to market areas and within overcrowded residential areas fail to meet standards of both World Health Organisation and Malawi Bureau of Standards.

The journal found that there is a high risk of contamination with heavy metals and other inorganic and organic substances that could easily lead to human health complications with high or extended exposure.

The post Councils want tough penalties for polluters first appeared on The Nation Online.

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