NEMC red tape angers investors

Dar es Salaam. Investors have raised concern over unnecessary costs incurred in implementing regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before commencement of business projects.

Investors’ dismay on execution of EIA regulations have come in the wake of a number of complaints raised against the responsible authorities within the National Environment Management Council (NEMC) who cause unnecessary bureaucratic red tape coupled with huge demand for EIA costs.

According to Mr Hussein Kamote, director of policy and research for Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI), it takes several months and even a couple of years to approve the EIA certificate causing unplanned costs of implementing projects by investors.

“We have recently held discussions with NEMC on this issue. We have told them that businesspersons are facing embarrassment and incurring huge losses in implementing their projects due to cumbersome procedures of carrying out environmental impact assessment. In fact some of the regulations also cause unnecessary costs,” says Mr Kamote.

He says the major cause for delay and excessive bureaucracy involved in the process of approving EIA by NEMC is the fact that they have few EIA consultants and most of them demand massive fees which are not properly guided.

“Apart from the fees charged by NEMC, the consultants charge EIA fees in accordance with their wishes. There are no proper guidelines for consultants to impose fees for carrying out environmental impact assessment studies,” he says.

He however, says that CTI is not objecting to the law on EIA, but the concern dwells on loopholes for high costs and cumbersome steps in observing the procedure for approving EIA certificate.

One of the investors who have raised similar complaints, Mr Max Komba, Managing Director of Cotes Ltd says that since October last year he is yet to get approval for EIA causing unnecessary costs and delayed construction of the proposed Hotel in Morogoro Municipality.

“We want NEMC to simplify the complicated process of approving environmental impact assessment. Suppose that an investor has borrowed funds from a financial institution for carrying out a certain business, delay in approving environment impact assessment will bring in unexpected costs which will ruin business performance,” says Mr Komba. According to him, the procedure that calls for holding consultative meetings with additional meeting expenses to be incurred by the client or investor is irrational. He says that his company is intending to construct a modern hotel with recreation centre at Msamvu area, Sina Street, plot No. 47/8 Block E in Morogoro municipality.

“I want to build a modern hotel at the cost of about Sh2 billion which is unique in Morogoro municipality. I have already met the regional authorities for this purpose, including the Regional Commissioner and Municipal Director,” he says.

The hotel project has several benefits to the municipality and the country at large, including generation of employment, generation of revenue from taxes and levies and generation of income to directly and indirectly employed Tanzanians, according to him.

The survey conducted by The Citizen last week showed that most investors lining up for seeking approval for EIA have expressed similar concern, specifically over the charges of between Sh20 million and 30 million imposed by EIA consultants who are hired by NEMC.

Responding to the disappointment raised by investors, NEMC director of EIA, Mr Ignace Mchallo says that the concern raised by them is due to low level of awareness on the procedure set under the 2004 NEMC Act.

“We are planning to hold awareness seminar to educate prospective investors on the procedure for approval of environment impact assessment certificate.”