The National Environment Management Authority (Nema) is facing serious questions about its capacity to regulate pollution and collect environmental fees, following revelations that only one employee is responsible for reviewing thousands of project assessments each year.
In the Auditor-General’s most recent annual report as of June 2024, Nema has just a single quantity surveyor tasked with screening over 7,000 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports annually. This overwhelming burden has essentially turned the agency into a rubber-stamp institution, allowing companies to get approvals with minimal scrutiny.
EIA reports are meant to evaluate both the cost and environmental impact of development projects, such as whether they meet predetermined ecological standards.
Gathungu warned that relying too much on a single officer leaves the country vulnerable to collusion and fraud, compromising the integrity of the environment monitoring.
“As per the approved staff establishment, only one quantity surveyor was in place against annual applications of 7,021 for EIA licenses across the 47 counties. This exposes the authority to risks of revenue loss due to elements of lack of segregation of duty, exhaustion, collusion and fraud during valuation of projects,” Ms Gathungu said.
The audit reveals a staggering workload at the Authority (Nema), where a single quantity surveyor is tasked with vetting an average of 19 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports daily. The reports, exceeding 500 pages in length with no page limit further highlight the strain on the agency’s slender resources.
In the financial year ending June 2024, Nema generated KSh576.42 million in revenue from EIA review fees, which is 71.2% of its yearly revenue. As much as these charges are high-stakes and are pivotal in deciding the fate of a project, the authority has been relying increasingly on external consultants hired by the firms that submit the reports. Nema has been playing a minimal role of verifying such appraisals, raising concerns regarding the completeness and independence of the review process.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu criticized Nema for relying too much on self-assessment by the companies themselves in determining pollution risks and determining associated fees.
In response to the Auditor-General’s concerns, Nema Director-General Mamo Boru acknowledged the personnel problems and outlined present reforms meant to improve the agency’s ability.
“The authority is addressing the staffing level of QSs by undertaking continuous workload analysis for the cost verification exercise, and we are currently setting up regional QS offices to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in this process,” Boru stated.
Boru defended the agency’s current approach, stating that the authority has been working with quantity surveyors from other government agencies to counter attempts by companies to undervalue their projects and pay lower Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) fees.
According to Boru, the primary role of a quantity surveyor is to verify the cost estimates prepared by project designers and compare them against established costing benchmarks for various sectors. This verification ensures that companies do not manipulate figures to reduce their environmental compliance costs.
Boru added that Nema operates on the assumption that project experts engaged by private companies will uphold ethical standards, while the authority plays a secondary role of verifying the assessments. The Auditor-General, nevertheless, strongly criticized this system, stating that the company self-assessment could compromise the integrity of the overall EIA process.
Even as Nema works to expand its in-house capacity and regional reach, questions linger about whether the current system provides enough checks and balances to protect the public and environment from the risks posed by poorly vetted development projects.
Auditor-General Gathungu raised concerns over weak revenue collection controls at the Environment Authority, revealing that the agency does not maintain a proper database of its clients. These clients include petrol stations, hospitals, waste effluent firms, exhausters, manufacturers, and agricultural processors.
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