THE National Environment Management Council (NEMC) has warned businesspeople who implement big projects without obtaining the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) from the council.

The council said that project implementers found guilty of not having EIA certificate face a fine of 10m/-.

This was said in Dar es Salaam yesterday by the council’s environmental management officer Suzan Chawe when speaking at the opening of a business exhibition to celebrate the forthcoming 60th anniversary of the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

 The exhibition was opened by the Second Vice President of Zanzibar Hemed Suleiman Abdulla. 

Chawe said NEMC has been conducting regular inspections in various parts of the country to fine those who introduce projects without EIA certificate.

She said NEMC has been running public education campaigns about the importance of EIA for those implementing projects to avoid being caught by inspectors and fined.

“For example, you may find that someone is building a fuel station in a residential area which is dangerous if there is an emergency; we emphasize the importance of EIA before starting construction activities,” she said.

Chawe said that for 60 years of independence, NEMC is proud of many things, including fighting for the protection of the environment by ensuring that trees are planted and protected.

She said that the council has made improvements to its information systems for evaluation and environmental impact assessments by strengthening the IT infrastructure in line with the requirements of the electronic government system.

She said NEMC manages projects that conduct environmental impact assessment electronically through online registration.

She said that this method enables an investor to initiate the process of obtaining an EIA certificate through the project management system.

“Before registering a project, the investor must ensure that ideas of the stakeholders have been obtained regarding implementation of the project in the respective area,” she said.