Manufacturers ask President to lift planned ban on plastic bags

Plastic bag vendors at Kisii fresh produce market on Monday April 17, 2017. Manufacturers have petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene in the impending implementation of a ban on plastic bags. PHOTO | BENSON MOMANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • KAM says that manufacturers of plastics contribute both income and consumption taxes estimated at more than Sh5 billion every year.
  • The manufacturers also want the Treasury to ring fence the various levies earned from the plastic bags business.
  • Environment CS Judi Wakhungu gave manufacturers six months to cease production of polythene bags and ensure no stock was left over in circulation.

Manufacturers have petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene in the impending implementation of a ban on plastic bags to avert massive job losses and billions in tax revenues.

Through their umbrella body, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), they argue that the imminent loss of 20,000 direct and 400,000 indirect jobs can be turned around into job creation and more tax for the government if their proposal for waste management is adopted instead of the total ban.

TAXES

KAM says that manufacturers of plastics contribute both income and consumption taxes estimated at more than Sh5 billion every year, hence the ban will harm a key revenue source for the government.

The ban, slated for August 28, they say, will also affect other sectors of the economy, including food packaging, agriculture, fisheries, livestock as well as traders involved in exports, thus widening its negative impact.

“Based on the foregoing and imminent effective date of the ban, we kindly implore you, as the Head of State, to make a directive lifting the ban under Gazette Notice No  2356 of 2017 on the ban of the use, manufacture and importation of plastic bags,” KAM Chief Executive Phyllis Wakiaga wrote in the letter dated July 24.

The letter, annexed with a summary on the effects of the ban, also asked the President to direct the development of a sustainable plastic wastage management strategy to be implemented by the players who use, manufacture and import plastic bags.

GAZETTE NOTICE

The National Assembly Committee on Environment and Natural Resources chaired by Mombasa County Woman Representative Amina Abdalla had also recommended the suspension of the ban pending consultations with the manufacturers.

The 29-member committee ruled that the Gazette Notice banning the use, manufacture and importation of plastic bags lacked stakeholder consultation, contrary to the provisions of Statutory Instruments Act 2013.

“Even if the issuance of the notice had complied with the relevant provisions of the Statutory Instruments Act 2013, the timeline of six months given in the notice for companies to cease operation was unreasonably short. The committee recommends the suspension of the Gazette notice,” the Parliamentary committee said.

The committee further argued that the companies would require ample time to clear all stocks, dispose of assets and fulfill contractual obligations to employees and suppliers to begin effecting the ban.

In their petition to the President, the manufacturers are proposing the removal of the current Sh120 excise duty on shopping bags to be replaced with a 1 per cent waste management board levy charged on all plastics at source. The money is then remitted to the Ministry of Environment and National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to assist in conservation efforts.

FUND RESEARCH

The manufacturers also want the Treasury to ring fence the various levies earned from the plastic bags business and be committed to implementing projects and programmes related to plastic waste control and management.

Part of the levies, according to the manufacturers’ proposals, should be applied to fund research and entrepreneurial initiatives geared towards production of alternatives to plastic bags.

In May, the manufacturers told the Parliamentary committee looking into the ban that poor plastic waste management was worsened by the existence of illegal manufacturers who largely operated outside the rules of the recommended quality.

KAM also proposed capital goods and tax rebates to industries promoting management and imposition of higher fines for littering in unlawful places.

“The government should close down all unlicensed manufacturers of plastic bags operating at the expense of legally recognised ones and take legal action against those found to have flouted the law,” manufacturers told the Parliamentary committee.

The MPS also agreed with the proposal to have the national government enact a strategic policy and legal framework to guide the county governments in waste management.

Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu, who gave manufacturers six months to cease production of polythene bags and ensure no stock was left over in circulation, maintains that it will bring more benefits than harm. She accused KAM of being dishonest with claims of impending job losses during her appearance before the MPs.