She made this disclosure during the question for oral answers session by NAMs to ministers.
She said the ministry is working on a “strategic solution towards these challenges” and on a “timely enforcement of the legal consequences” to motivate attitudinal change.
She stated that NEA had almost completed the revision and replacement process of the Waste Management Law and the National Waste Management Act respectively, saying “these are expected to address” the above-mentioned challenges.
She also dilated on the National Environment Management Act, saying it will consider a more robust way of handling and prosecuting matters of this nature.
“Before, it was not centralised to the agency but now we want to centralise it so that we will make these court fines very implementable and useful,” she stated.
“In the new bill which is almost at implementation stage, NEA has already recruited their legal expert who has started work and has been given the powers by the Justice Minister to execute only cases of environmental issues,” she said, adding: “This will help in addressing littering and other environmental problems.”
She also said the President has directed her ministry to work on instituting a sustainable national waste management system. “Currently the ministry has already started engaging with a Senegalese waste management institution, set up by their government for a similar purpose, to design and implement a solution before the end of 2024,” she pointed out.
The bill has been validated and all other processes are done, she said, adding: “We are doing the final review which is under my desk to resubmit to AG Chambers for them to bring it to parliament.”
She alluded that the process was being delayed to include “this sustainable waste management component that we have been tasked with, to make sure that there is no barrier in us managing the Waste Management Component as per the Anti-Litter Law”.
She highlighted that the main responsibility of the Ministry of Environment through NEA is to regulate matters relating to waste collection, disposal, and management, while the area councils are responsible mainly for the collection and disposal of waste.
“Enforcement of the anti-littering law is a challenge and is challenged by the lack of comprehensive waste collection and management strategy,” she emphasised.
