By David Wanjala
Even before the August 28 plastic ban kicks in, there is already skepticism as to whether the hefty penalties imposed on offenders will guarantee its success. According to the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, the ban will see convicted offenders face a period of between one and four years imprisonment or a fine of between Sh2 million and Sh4 million.
While the hefty punishment could make a case for deterrence, it’s not difficult to see why skeptics are adamant that this could open fresh avenues for corruption.
For starters, the new guidelines have been poorly advertised. The public remains largely unaware of them leaving them susceptible to punishment once the ban kicks in. When that time comes, a far smaller bribe to an officer of the law would be better alternative to most offenders. Aware of the public’s poor conception of the punishment modules and their inability to pay either way, officers will only happily suggest this bribe. Poor advertisement also means that most traders are ill prepared for this period. It isn’t far-fetched to assume that the extra cost incurred in sourcing alternative packaging or paying off fines or bribes will be passed on to the consumer?
Thanks to the small number officer to potential offender ratio, many would-be offenders will go unpunished. In the reverse, to arrest them all will only lead to overcrowding of prisons and other holding areas – a problem the country is trying to run away from.
Lest we forget, this won’t be the first time Kenya has tried to ban polythene bags. The ban has been attempted twice before, in 2007 and 2011, without much success. This latest measure is broader, but few are ready for it. There are fears that it will cost thousands of jobs. There is also belief that supermarkets will simply switch to paper bags, leading to deforestation as well as fears that the public won’t accept it anyway. In Rwanda, since its ban was imposed, a thriving underground industry has emerged smuggling the bags from neighboring Congo. Packing in the plastic may be harder than it seems.
Is it possible that the government considered lesser, easy to implement punishments? Sh5000 fine, for instance, paid on the spot via a known mobile platform guarantees adherence to the rules with lesser arrests. There is also a guarantee that this money will reach the state. In an economy that a majority live on less than a dollar a day, there will be hardly any repeat offenders and with time, the law will carry the day and the environment will thrive.
And why not start with the manufacturers? Slap them with such heavy fines say for two years before roping in consumers with affordable yet pinching fines! That way, while stopping production of new polythene, what is already in the market will be used as sensitization goes on. By end of the target period, the consumer will be fully aware of the ban and there will be no new polythene in the market anyway.
