GREEN Economy and Environmental Minister Collins Nzovu says his Ministry will work with the Ministry of Justice to complete the process of amending the Environmental Management Act as well as other supportive legislations that are at various levels of development.
Mr. Nzovu said the ministry would also engage the agency to commence the process of reviewing legislation governing environmental protection and pollution prevention and control.
He said the new dawn government was aware that as the country was being opened for more investment, protected forests, game parks, headwaters, wetlands, game management areas would increasingly come
under pressure.
Speaking yesterday when he visited Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) offices in Lusaka yesterday, Mr. Nzonvu urged the agency to also monitor activities of various developers in the country to
ensure they followed procedure.
“We will provide a clear policy direction to give investors and institutions such as ZEMA as to exploitation of ecologically sensitive areas through the recently enacted strategic environmental assessments ecologically,” he said.
Mr. Nzovu said there was need to quickly look at the strategic Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) adding that there was huge demand for development especially mining activities in ecological sensitive areas.
He said the new dawn administration was projecting an average economic growth of 10 per cent per year, in line with the objectives of achieving the agenda 2030 with its important 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are aimed to lift the majority of people from poverty.
The Minister urged ZEMA to up their game in terms of vigilance and performance stating that the pace of development would now be determined by his ministry and ZEMA and that their would be no political interference.
Mr. Nzovu said there would an exponential increase in the demand for ZEMA services in the country as it would be at the core of operation of the ministry.
He further urged the media to help ZEMA to educate the masses on environmental sustainability to prevent the effects of climate change among other environmental challenges.
Speaking earlier, ZEMA acting Director General, Simon Mwansa said that the agency intended to acquire a modern environmental laboratory in Ndola which was expected to be a source of revenue for the agency.
Mr. Mwansa also said that on the agenda was the automation program of the agency and further indicated that ZEMA intends to establish more provincial offices to improve its national presence.
He said despite the demand for ZEMA services increasing exponentially over the years the agency is limited in terms of finances and human resources due to limited budget.
