The Environmental Management Agency in Zimbabwe says it will only license generators above 5kVA at a commercial level, following panic among members of the public who are using generators at home due to power cuts currently affecting the country.
Last week, EMA reportedly ordered residents to pay a fine of $100 000 for illegally operating “an air-polluting appliance (generator) without a license”.
Earlier the agency stated that “…mining is a prescribed project that should be implemented only under an Environmental Impact Assessment licence as enshrined in Section 97 of the Environmental Management Act(CAP 20:27), and the Agency will not hesitate to penalise all those found violating this standing regulation,” said EMA Environmental Education and Publicity Manager Amkela Sidange.
“The Agency is ceased with the problem at hand thus inspections are also being carried out across the country in order to weed out all those implementing mining and other prescribed projects, as well as certain specified projects without requisite permits. Project developers should guard against complacency but safeguard safety of the public and integrity of the environment.”
The agency warned offenders that will fail to pay the fixed environmental penalty by February 20 risk being issued with warrants of arrest.
In a statement yesterday, EMA said they meant those operating generators for commercial or industrial use.