Makueni County officials want the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to vet and ensure that only experts in environmental matters were given the mandate to conduct impact assessment in the country.
Lands, urban Planning, Environment and Climate Change Committee Member (ECM) Dr. Sonia Nzilani who is also the Chairperson of the County Environment Committee said it was critical that environmental experts undertook such surveys to arrive at a conclusive and credible report.
In this regard, she observed that there was a need to ensure the individuals conducting Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) were professionals with sound experience to advice on better ways of conserving the environment.
“NEMA should not license doctors, engineers or teachers to conduct EIA as they do not know the problems of the environment. We want people who are experts and passionate in environment matters to lead by example as they understand the issues from a professional point of view,” Dr. Nzilani told a Committee (CEC) meeting at a hotel in Wote town.
The meeting was called to brief some of the CEC members in the county about the National Agricultural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP) which is funded by the World Bank in which leaders were urged to play their oversight roles.
Dr. Nzilani at the same time challenged the members of the public and the community to ensure they plant trees during this rainy season in an effort to increase forest cover in the county.
By Patrick Nyakundi
