Sanitation and Wastewater Atlas of Africa

2.3.2 Regulation of industrial effluents

The Kampala Pollution Task Force was established by the Kampala Capital City Authority as part of the Reform of the Urban Water and Sanitation Sector Programme in 2012. Kampala Capital City Authority coordinates this multi-institutional task force. Members include the Directorate of Water Resources Management, the National Environment Management Authority and the National Water and Sewerage Corporation – institutions responsible for the regulation of water resources, environment and municipal wastewater management, respectively. Uganda Manufacturers Association and Uganda Cleaner Production Centre were brought on board in order to improve engagement with the industrial sector through a public–private dialogue regarding cleaner production and improved resource recovery and reuse efficiency, with a focus on water, waste and energy optimization. Governments enact mainly environmental quality and pollution mitigation legislation to regulate discharges from industry, with the primary purpose being to control pollution of the receiving environment. Criminal sanctions are often used in the event of non-compliance with the conditions issued on an effluent discharge permit, in order to discourage pollution. The legislation is enforced through administrative structures (Edokpayi et al. 2017). Several laws and policies geared towards protecting the environment fromindustrial activities exist in African countries, including in South Africa (Edokpayi et al. 2017), Uganda (Kulabako andOkurut 2014), Ethiopia (Ghebretekle 2015), Nigeria (Ladan 2016) and Algeria (Gherbi 2012). Additionally, these countries subscribe to global environmental goals on water resources management that seek to protect freshwater resources, including the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (Paragraph 25d) and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, article 196 (Paragraph 1) to prevent marine pollution (UNEP 2016). The fact that Africa is still facing challenges in managing waste streams, including the industrial pollution of its water resources, exposes a glaring gap between the existence of laws and policies and the reality of their implementation. Enforcement of industrial pollution control legislation in most African countries remains inadequate and, as in other developing regions, suffers major setbacks due to the dire need for industrialization to create jobs and foster economic development (which might be hampered by the costs of pollution Case Study 2.8. Kampala Pollution Task Force

Off-site conveyance systems for excreta, faecal sludge and wastewater serve multiple households

control to the private sector); inadequate technical experts to deal with pollution from the manufacturing sector; insufficient funds for the construction, operation and maintenance of effluent treatment plants as well as monitoring; low deterrent effects of fines and other penalties;

and lack of collaboration among regulatory institutions (Ghebretekle 2015; Edokpayi et al. 2017). There are ongoing efforts to address these issues in some African countries, such as the Pollution Task Force in Kampala, Uganda, as explained in Case study 2.8.

affordable mitigation measures. At least eight industries have taken up this offer since 2016. Every year, the Pollution Task Force holds a public–private dialogue with industries (the Public–Private Kampala Wastewater Dialogue) on wastewater management and pollution control to share and discuss experiences, successes, challenges and potential solutions for sustainable industrial development and environmental sustainability. In 2016, the Pollution Task Force launched the Kampala Green Industry Campaign, a competitive and incentive-based approach to contribute to the improvement of industrial practices regarding safety, environmental pollution control, waste management, water and energy conservation, recycling and reuse within Kampala City. The task force provides capacity-building for its members, such as study tours and training in inspection and monitoring.

collaboration among key government agencies and the public and private sectors regarding legal provisions and regulations on wastewater discharge andpollutioncontrol; toinitiatecampaignstoincrease industrial compliance with permit regulations regarding wastewater discharge; to conduct joint industrial assessments and disseminate pollution monitoring information to the public and private sectors; to engage major polluters and the public sector in a public–private dialogue on wastewater management and pollution control as a way of increasing awareness and trust; and to encourage stakeholders to act as partners of Government and its agencies by promoting transparency in policymaking, regulation and enforcement. Since its inception, the Pollution Task Force has assessed 37 industries every quarter for pollution control and monitoring compliance. The task force offers subsidized cleaner production audits to polluting industries to support them in identifying their main pollution sources and

The task force’s key priorities are to establish a platform for information exchange and

Source: Kampala Capital City Authority [KCCA] (2019)

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SANITATION AND WASTEWATER ATLAS OF AFRICA