Campaign to control car emissions launched

Vehicles that emit gases harmful to the environment will be subjected to on-spot tests in a new campaign that officials say would help contain emission of dangerous gases.The National Environmnent Management Authority (Rema), in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Rwanda National Police, unveiled the gas tester on Thursday.The launch, at Motor Vehicle Inspection Centre in Kigali, was graced by the Minister for Natural Resources, Stanislas Kamanzi, the Inspector General of Police Emmanuel Gasana, the Director-General of Rema, Rose Mukankomeje, and other stakeholders. Kamanzi said the move is in line with the government’s commitment to fighting air pollution arising from vehicular emissions.“Today, we have started measuring the pollution from vehicles and machinery that contaminate the environment and affect human health.This pollution is mainly coming from factories and vehicles. We are also considering reining in on odours from pollutants in the near future,” Kamanzi said.The testingThe minister appealed to vehicle owners and machine operators to be cautious of such gas emissions and revealed that they are going to embark on massive training for all stakeholders.“I am calling on the public to report vehicles that emit dangerous gases because they not only pollute the environment but are also harmful to health,” he added.Vehicular emissions will be detected by measuring exhaust functions during the routine vehicle inspection by Mobile Vehicle Inspection Centre.If a vehicle is too old or does not have the required measurements, it will not be allowed on the road.A research, conducted by Rema in 2011, showed that the country is facing a problem of air pollution caused by vehicular emissions resulting from poor maintenance and use of second hand vehicles, adulteration of fuel products and improper traffic management systems.“The threat of carbon gases is still low in Rwanda compared to other countries in the world. However, we should not relax because of this because the number of cars in our country is increasing on a daily basis and thus need to control these emissions before they become a problem,” Mukankomeje said.The gas emission tester is an electronic device that can automatically measure the gas levels of any machine.