NEMA exempts private vehicles from mandatory car dustbins

KAMPALA, UGANDA: The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has announced that private cars can now move without drivers having to worry about the fine that comes with not carrying a dustbin.

The development comes barely two weeks after the Uganda Law Society (ULS) challenged the regulator saying it cannot enforce the mandate for all car owners since the policy doesn’t exist anywhere in the current environmental laws.

According to NEMA Spokesperson Ms Naomi Karekaho, the directive is however mandatory for public transport owners and therefore for Taxis, Coasters Buses and Coaches, they will have to own a trashcan in their vehicles when the 30-day postponement elapses.

“The dustbin is specifically for public transport because they carry many people at a time, so these people may want to eat and dispose of the bags carrying their foodstuffs, other passengers may have babies whose mothers want to change their diapers, so that is why the public transporters should have dustbins to carry the rubbish of their passengers.”

She further revealed that private car owners can move without dustbins but will be required to pay a fine if caught littering or dropping any kind of waste on the streets or public places.

“For a private car that has one or two people, they can hold onto their waste but if they throw it on the streets, they will pay a fine of Shs6 million fine.”

Background

NEMA in February this year announced that it was set to implement a new express penalty scheme intended to deter non-compliance to environment laws and to prevent environmental degradation.

Among the new regulations, every car is supposed to have a dustbin. Any car found without a dustbin would result in the arrest of the driver or payment of a Shs6 million fine.

However, with just a day to the implementation of the directive, Nema postponed the enforcement of its express penalty scheme, which among others, required all vehicles, both private and public, to have dustbins.

In a statement released on Friday, March 31st, the Authority’s executive director, Dr Barirega Akankwasa, said the enforcement had been halted for at least 30 days after an engagement with public transporters who asked for more time to acquire dustbins.