Crackdown
The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has warned landlords and abattoirs in Kajiado County discharging effluent into the environment. NEMA Deputy Director in charge of Enforcement Salome Machua revealed that many developers continue to flout waste disposal regulations by releasing raw effluent into the environment, feeder roads and rivers.
Speaking in Isinya town after conducting a crackdown at the Isinya abattoir, Machua said the effluent was being released at night and when it rains so as to avoid detection. “There are some developers and abattoirs who wantonly discharge raw effluents into rivers at night. Others do so when it rains posing a danger to residents as they will be at risk of contracting water-borne diseases,” she said.
Machua ordered the developers to ensure proper waste disposal systems in their buildings or risk arrest, adding that they will be conducting regular crackdowns to ensure compliance. She also directed owners of slaughterhouses to install functional wastewater treatment plants and apply for Effluent Discharge Licence (EDL).
Failure to comply they risk closure, or prosecution and will be liable for imprisonment for a term not less than one year, or a fine of not less than 2 million or both. During the crackdown, the proprietors of Isinya slaughterhouse and King Quality Meat were arrested for discharging effluent into the environment without an Effluent Discharge License.
The agency also put UMMA University on notice over its poor water treatment system, following complaints from the members of the public that effluent from the institution was being discharged into their farms.