The Chamber of Deputies has requested the Prime Minister to solve, within two years, the issue of emissions discharged by SteelRwa – a steel manufacturing factory based in Rwamagana District – which nearby residents complain are harmful to them. In a resolution passed on Wednesday November 3, the legislators directed that the Premier presents to the Chamber of Deputies a progress report on efforts to address the problem every six months. Findings by parliament indicate that this problem has been affecting the residents for 11 years. It is to note that Rwanda Environment Management Authority suspended the factory over harmful emissions in August 2019, but it was later allowed to resume operations. This prompted the residents in the surroundings of this factory to petition the speaker, Donatille Mukabalisa, to help address their complaint, indicating that the emissions from the factory were harmful to their health. The Speaker requested the Committee on Land, Agriculture, Livestock, and Environment to scrutinise the issue and draft resolutions to the Lower Chamber’s Plenary Sitting. To analyse the problem, the Committee held talks with different officials including the Minister of Environment, the Director-General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), the Minister of Trade and Industry, and the Minister of Health. Others are the Governor of Eastern Province and the Mayor of Rwamagana District. The discussions covered the nature of the factory, the value it has for the country, its effects to the residents living around it, and strategies to address them. Through the discussions, MPs realised that though the factory was important to the country, the residents had continued to appeal for help, expressing that being exposed to the harmful gasses emitted from the factory was a major concern. According to MPs, it was realised that the factory did not compy with the the use of systems to control emissions, and that environmental protection organs warned that the gases issue would not be completely addressed because the factory is near the residents. Expropriating the factory, the residents, or using effective technology to retain its emissions, are some of the possible solutions that were proposed by different concerned entities. The Government will have to consider which option is most feasible. Committee Chairperson, Alice Marie Uwera Kayumba said that the cost of expropriating the residents will be determined by a technical team, pointing out that no estimates have been made thus far. She said that the value of the factory in question was estimated at [Rwf]12 billion, which implies that relocating it would be more costly. Some MPs argued that evacuating residents from the locality would imply that the area is designed for industries, which is not the case. MP Uwera said that a technical team that will be led by the Prime Minister will identify which option is the best to address the problem. “Our focus is on the end result – ensuring that the residents’ complaint is properly solved – whichever the means,” she said. MP Germaine Mukabalisa said that the possible harm of the gases on the health of the residents should be considered. Mukabalisa said that it was concerning that the citizens have been exposed to the emissions from the plant for 11 years, arguing that they pose respiratory problems to them. “Enough is enough, the residents should not continue to inhale such harmful gases,” she said, pointing out that the delay in acting to stop the problem is missing ‘an opportunity to save a life’. MP Uwera said that the Ministry of Health did not say whether it carried out research on the impact of the gases on the health of residents in the vicinity of the factory, rather it said there was a need to check their health to determine it. She said she thinks that will be included in the assessment of ways to tackle the problem under the PM’s coordination. Meanwhile, some MPs said that even other factories in the country should be inspected to find out if they do not emit harmful gases to the nearby communities. According to figures from the factory, it has the capacity to produce about 3,000 tonnes of iron bars per month and employs 580 people.
