By Chrispory Juma
The government may be ready in terms of structures and policies to implement this very positive plan for our environment but ordinary Kenyans are not prepared yet to forget about their most available and cheapest means of packaging just like that. NEMA ought to have learnt lessons on why previous attempts in 2007 and 2011 failed. As we had been mark-timing for another attempt this year, enough ought to have been done in the space available to educate and prepare the nation in adopting more environment-friendly methods of packaging. It is interesting that just a few days to effecting this ban, NEMA is organizing an event in Nairobi to show stakeholders available alternative innovations. National awareness, which includes such shows, ought to have picked up immediately an implementation plan was ready, with the utmost involvement of county governments and local communities.
The planned ban seemed to have picked up in the public domain just three months ago, leaving Kenyans confused and asking a number of questions. Where will an ordinary village trader get where to package his milk? What happens to the thousands of Kenyans employed in plastic-making industries? How available in the market are the alternative means against the huge demand? Can the state tell the nation what it has done to cushion Kenyans against the effects of this ban?
As it happens with most government initiatives, public engagement is assumed or superficial and the state relies mainly on its machineries to effect penalties such as fines and jail terms to insure such bans are implemented. But the strategies create illegal defiant creations for survival such as black markets. The big question that NEMA should ask itself is, ‘Have we done enough over time to change Kenyans’ attitude to embrace a clean environment?’ The answer would be NO, as it hopes for Kenyans and the industry to adapt to this ban along the way. We remain to watch if this time we’ll succeed.
Mr. Juma is a Public Health Specialist.
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