Africa-Press – Malawi. The Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (Mepa) has threatened to shut down companies that are operating without adhering to environmental standards in Malawi.
This follows routine inspections Mepa officials have been conducting in entities across the country. Mepa acting Deputy Director General Michael Makonombera said at the weekend that they would not compromise on standards.
“Each and every company operating in Malawi should make sure that it abides by all environmental rules or else risk being shut down.
“We, as an institution, are mandated to make sure that all companies that are operating in the country are following environmental management rules. We are not going to tolerate companies that operate without following rules.
“We will continue inspecting more companies’ premises because we are against pollution and other vices,” Makonombera said. Meanwhile, Natural Resources Justice Network Chairperson Kossam Munthali has hailed the authority for rising to the occasion.
“That aside, we are calling on Mepa to put its house in order before starting some of these things. The institution has been operating without permanent staff, which is all wrong,” Munthali said.
Recently, NRJN asked the government to employ permanent staff for Mepa as, currently, the institution depends on staff from the Environmental Management Affairs Department.
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