BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has dismissed social media speculation that individuals who use generators will now need to have registered licences. 

EMA’s Environmental Education and Publicity Manager Amkela Sidange made the clarification on Monday following a speculation that those who ran their generators for household use without licences were going to pay a fine of up to $100 000 for pollution. 

Zimbabweans are increasingly relying on generators because of long hours of power cuts due declining power generation at the Kariba Dam and Hwange Power Station. 

“The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) would like to correct a notion that it licences operation of any generator above 5kVA, which has caused unnecessary panic among members of the public especially those using generators at household level or for domestic purposes,” Sidange said. 

“As a matter of fact, Section 64 of the Environmental Management Act (Cap 20:27) clearly stipulates that, “No owner or operator of a trade or any establishment shall emit a substance or energy which causes or is likely to cause air pollution without an emission licences, thus clearly indicating that this is an operation at commercial level or for industrial use.

“The appliance of operation is further buttressed under Statutory Instrument 72 of  2009 (Environmental Management [Atmospheric Pollution Control] Regulations, 2009), where an appliance means any stationary fuel-burning appliance or apparatus which is capable of 

consuming more than 5 kilograms per hour of fuel or other combustible matter, whether such fuel or combustible matter is in a solid, liquid or gaseous state. 

In this case, a generator becomes the appliance and if it is consuming more than 5kg per hour of fuel, and being used for commercial purposes or industrial use, then it must be licenced by the Agency.”

 Sidange said the law clarifies that the appliance, in this case generators, are defined on fuel consumption basis and not on power basis that the public has been made to understand.

“On that note the Agency wants to implore members of the public to always look at the brighter side of this piece of legislative narrative which seeks to prevent air pollution and ensure members of the public enjoy access to clean environment (air) which is not harmful to health as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Environmental Management Act (Chapter 20:27)

“Also prevention of air pollution dovetails towards the fight against climate change where as a country we want to achieve our Nationally determined Contributions (NDCs), of 40% per capita emissions reduction across all sectors of the economy below the projected business as usual scenario by 2030.”

Meanwhile, Sidange called on those found on the wrong side of the law to desist from causing public panic by disseminating incorrect information and at the same time for the members of the public to engage the Agency when not in the clear about certain environmental law implications.