The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 (As Amended) provides that every Ugandan is entitled to living in a healthy and clean environment. There are laws in place to ensure the realization of this right.
By virtue of this mandate, KCCA assumes the following regulatory obligations, which are mainly captured by the National Environment (Waste Management) Regulations [S.I. 49 of 2020] (“the Regulations”):
- KCCA is required to apply measures in the management of waste to prevent harm to human health and ensure the safety of human beings, apply measures to prevent pollution, harm to biological diversity, and contamination of the wider environment by waste.
- KCCA is required to have constructed an engineered landfill that complies with best environmental practices and best available technologies and is built in accordance with modern environmental standards.
- There is an obligation to ensure that the placement of waste in the landfill is undertaken in a manner that ensures the stability of the mass waste and associated structures, and where an artificial barrier is established, the waste handler shall monitor how the waste settles to prevent damage to the barrier.
- The landfill operator must set up and implement Quality Control and Monitoring Programmes during the operational phase of the landfill, and the Regulations further set out, with precision, what the said program must contain.
- The N.E.M.A Guidelines for the Management of Landfills (2020) require operators of existing sites to improve on the current measures, facilities, and operations and to undertake some structural adjustments to maintain perimeter fencing relative to the site size, and this should be of sufficient height or approximately 2.3 metres, and the same should be regularly monitored and inspected to ensure integrity.
It is important that such authorities or even private operators are tasked to demonstrate that they have complied with the set regulations. Failure to comply may attract penalties like issuance of warning letters, suspension of the operations, closure, or even confiscation of property and equipment, in addition to incurring hefty fines.
As noted, an aggrieved party in the event of injury or death may also seek recourse to the Courts of Law for remedies against an operator. In pursuing this course of action, an aggrieved person may seek compensatory orders against the responsible authority or landfill operator where it can be demonstrated that the operator fell short of their regulatory obligations. Those seeking justice must, however, be sure that they are not guilty of illegally erecting structures where they should not have, by law.
Peter Kahindi,
Host - Regulators Roundtable
13.08.2024