Andrew
AMENDMENTS to the Environmental Management Act will make it a progressive piece of legislation for protecting the environment, especially as the country is forecasting high economic growth, a Cabinet Minister said on Monday.
In a speech read on his behalf by his deputy Barbara Rwodzi, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said the need to align the Act to the Constitution and move with current trends in managing the environment had occasioned its review.
The speech was read at a workshop which the ministry organised to get proposals from stakeholders on amendments to the Act.
“The review of the Environmental Management Act has been necessitated by two key developments, namely: the need to align it to the Constitution of Zimbabwe; and, secondly, to update it in line with modern trends in environmental management, bearing in mind that the EMA Act was enacted in 2002, which is almost two decades ago,” said Minister Ndlovu.
In addition to the principles of environmental stewardship, he said, environmental management stakeholders should also critically examine whether the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) as an institution was still structurally suitable and adequately empowered legally to play the role of an efficient and effective regulator. – New Ziana
Online Reporter