Farirai Machivenyika-Senior Reporter
PARLIAMENT has approved the Environmental Management Amendment Bill gazetted in September, clearing the path for its debate in the legislative assembly.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, informed the House this week that the Parliamentary Legal Committee had issued a non-adverse report on the Bill, which seeks to provide stiffer penalties for polluters.
“I have to inform the House that the Parliamentary Legal Committee met on the 26th of October 2026 and considered amendments to the Environmental Management Amendment Bill [H. B. 5, 2026]. The Committee thinks that the amendments are not in contravention of the Declaration of Rights or any other provisions of the Constitution,” said Advocate Mudenda.
The Bill will impose stricter penalties for corporate polluters, land degradation, and illegal riverbed mining, moving away from previous minimal fines. It also introduces tougher penalties and enforcement measures specifically targeting unauthorised wetland developers.
Furthermore, the legislation gives stronger legal force to the “polluter pays” principle, holding individuals and corporations directly accountable for ecological damage.
The Bill incorporates modern environmental governance standards, operationalises constitutional environmental rights, and establishes cooperative frameworks involving the ministers responsible for the environment, mines, and agriculture to monitor and combat degradation.
