State watchdog inquiry puts Nema boss on the spot

Kenya’s environmental regulator and its leadership are in the dock for sleeping on the job. A government investigation has recommended disciplinary action be taken against the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) director general for abuse of office.

Dr Muusya Mwinzi is being accused of ignoring expert advice and unilaterally allowing uncontrolled developments in Kenya’s game reserves and marine parks that pose a serious threat to the environment.

And now there are calls from some groups that Dr Mwinzi steps aside to allow for full investigations in the matter. A forensic report by the Efficiency Monitory Unit says Dr Mwinzi and a number of senior mangers should be surcharged for various misdeeds.

“The permanent secretary ministry of environment should take appropriate disciplinary action against the Director General for insubordination, poor corporate governance and abuse of office for persistently ignoring the directives of the board of management and failure to provide leadership in the authority,” says the report.

On Thursday, Dr Mwinzi declined to comment on the report, referring the Daily Nation to the Environment Permanent Secretary, Mr Lawrence Lenayapa. “The government has machinery on how such issues are tackled and certainly not through the press,” he added.

EIA licences

However, Dr Mwinzi said the country cannot be run through malice and accusations — a pointer that he had reservations with the forensic report. Efforts to get comments from Mr Lenayapa were fruitless as he was said to be out office until Monday.

One of the most serious accusations levelled against Dr Mwinzi is the issuance of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licences irregularly, compromising Nema’s role as an environmental regulator. The document, dated February 2010, cites three cases in which Dr Mwinzi ignored recommendations of Nema’s director of compliance and enforcement, Mr M.O. Mbegera, in the issuance of EIA licences, and instructed officers to release them irregularly.

The licences were issued to Plantations Plant Kenya Ltd, Naivasha, the Cobra Corner in Mara Triangle and Silver Crest Ltd, Mombasa. In the case of Plantations Plant Kenya, investigations reveal that Dr Mwinzi, instructed Mr Mbegera to withdraw a case which was brought against the owner of the flower business who had been charged with flouting environmental rules. “The proponents of the project commenced work without approval of an EIA report as noted in the letter dated 16th March, 2007,” the document adds.

Before the issuance of the EIA licence, the director of the company had admitted that the extension of the existing farm had not been authorised “and detailed various mitigating factors with a request to be pardoned for the anomaly to enable police to release him from custody.” In a hand written note, dated March 16, 2007, Dr Mwinzi is reported to have instructed Mr Mbegera to withdraw the case.

Irregular licensing

On Cobra Corner, the Mara Triangle Project, Dr Mwinzi is accused of issuing a licence irregularly, in a record one day, without a formal review of the EIA. “In the above case the Director General ignored the Ministry of Tourism moratorium requirement that no developments take place in the triangle until formulation of general management plan.

The speed with which the licence was issued left a lot to be desired,” the 76-page document says. The moratorium was issued after environmentalists raised alarm about the mushrooming of hotels and camps, which they said threatened 15,000 sq km reserve’s flora and fauna.

In the last case involving Silvercrest Ltd, Dr Mwinzi is also accused of ignoring the advice of Mr Mbegera in issuing the licence. Though the hotel project was established inside a marine park, EMU says Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) was not consulted. “The KWS was also ignored in the distribution list of EIA for comments to lead agencies,” it adds. The law requires that Nema receives comments on a proposed project, as part of its evaluation process, before a licence is issued.

The wildlife regulator, then recommended the demolition of the project, which it said had been built on a 30 metre high water mark, to save marine life habitat. “This will also save the beach access which has been already blocked and such buildings should not be constructed on beach fronts,” the KWS letter addressed to the Lands minister and PS says.

On Thursday, the Kenya Alliance of Residence Associations (Kara) asked Dr Mwinzi and other senior officials named in the report to step aside for full investigations. Kara chief executive Stephen Mutoro whose organisation has been involved in a series of battles with some of the developers whose projects were irregularly licensed said:

“Our appeals to the authority, on several occasions, to review suspect EIA licences issued to questionable developments across the country have been in vain. The response in most cases has portrayed the institution’s top brass as either unwilling to take action or one which is simply indecisive.”

He said Kara was extremely alarmed at the rate at which the environment and wetlands were being depleted and destroyed. “This is, in part, due to senseless state sanctioning of uncontrolled developments, professional negligence, corruption and less commitment on remedial action on the part of Nema and its management, ” Mr Mutoro added.