Intensify crackdown on environmental polluters

The crackdown on companies in Nairobi emitting effluents in rivers following the recent series of stories published in the Nation on water pollution should not just be a decoy to hoodwink the public but a well thought-out and concerted undertaking to clean the environment.

All manufacturers that pollute rivers and the environment generally, as well as individuals and communities, must be seized and punished. And the campaign should extend across the country and be sustained for the long haul.

Our fear is that such are just pranks to respond to public outcry, but which subside as soon as the protests stop. Which is the tragedy of our nation. No crusade runs full cycle. Authorities resort to knee-jerk reactions when a crisis unfolds, but quickly recoil into own cocoons once the complaints abate. Everything goes back to square one.

This is why we demand that the environmental regulatory authorities intensify the clampdown and do so consistently and continuously. National Environment Management Authority (Nema), which is leading the clampdown, has to enlist other agencies in the crusade. Ministries of Water and Sanitation, Environment, Agriculture and Irrigation, Devolution as well as Regional Development must all join in the campaign. Cleaning the environment is an existential challenge that cannot be handled so casually as we have seen in the past.

As our recent exposé demonstrated, Nairobi River and others like Athi that empty their waters into the Indian Ocean are an environmental mess. The country’s water resources are in terrible state. And no one is safe, either in the city or upcountry. Water uptake downstream and its utilisation on farmlands as well as aquatic products that we consume are a threat to our existence.

The most upsetting fact is that the manufacturing plants that openly throw their waste directly into the rivers are licensed. Their activities are well known to the environmental agencies, but nothing ever happens to them. This must change.

We also put on notice Nairobi County Government that approves constructions on river basins and which has failed to provide adequate and proper sewer system. Governor Mike Sonko and his administration must deal with city planning and particularly resolve the sanitation challenge.

Cleaning the rivers requires concerted efforts bringing together ministries, government departments and county authorities. The Judiciary and other arms of government must also provide support. It will not surprise when some of the affected companies run to the courts and obtain injunctions to stop the regulators from sanctioning them. We insist that the regulators must fight the polluters to the bitter end. Not only should they close the factories, but arrest those responsible. Individual citizens occupying riparian areas and polluting the rivers must all be cleared.