Concerns arise over pollution from old imported vehicles

The Rwanda Environment Management Authority has called for fast-tracking of harmonisation of the age limit of imported cars into the region stressing that old cars pose a danger to human health.Environmentalists say that older vehicles cause air pollution through emission of fatal gases like hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, which are all harmful to health.Health reports indicate that more than half of the cancers traced to air pollution are caused by hazardous pollutants from motor vehicles.Local environmentalists are concerned that as the economy grows, the problem worsens.The Director of Environmental Regulation and Pollution Control Unit at REMA, Remy Norbert Duhuze, said the importation and use of old motor vehicles would have a negative impact on the region.A recent consultative meeting to limit the age of motor vehicles held in Nairobi, Kenya, failed to reach a consensus. Participants instead agreed to conduct studies on the final proposals of the age of vehicles to be imported into the partner states.“It’s not important to have different procedures and standards yet we are in the same region. However, we are concerned with the impact of air pollution caused by these old vehicles”, he said.During the meeting, a proposal was put forward to adopt a tentative age limit of 10 years from the date of first registration for all the partner states with an exception of Kenya that wishes to retain the age limit of eight years.Duhuze observed that the tentative ten year age limit is still high due to the resultant environmental effects “It’s because we (East Africans) are still poor. Ten years is too much for a motor vehicle and if possible, we should solely be importing new cars.”Environmental Inspector Officer at REMA, Israel Dufatanye, pointed out in an interview that while air pollution was yet to reach alarming levels, the country suffers from lack of disposal facilities for metallic materials.“When the car is old, you will have to import spare parts yet we lack disposal facilities for old waste.”He noted the waste materials are absorbed into water which ends up costing the government a lot to clean the water.The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of EAC, Amb. William Kayonga, disclosed that a national consultative meeting that was held recently agreed that the Infrastructure ministry carry out a study to chart a final position for the government on the matter.“The study is supposed to be completed by the end of this month and that is when we shall know Rwanda’s position.”The Commandant of the Traffic Police, Chief Supt Celestin Twahirwa, told The New Times that as a partner, they only assess the security implications of old imported cars to the public. “If the car is old, we take it to motor vehicle inspection centre and if it does not meet the minimum conditions required, we prohibit it from our roads as it might cause accidents”.Today, however, it is indistinct that anybody is free to import any car without the age limit considerations. “I started importing vehicles from Germany, Belgium, and Netherlands in 2007, but I have never been stopped doing so because of the age limit. I normally import depending on the customer demand. Some need vehicles that were manufactured in 1995, 2000 and so on,” said the importer on condition of anonymity.Commenting on the issue of air pollution, Kigali Mayor, Fidel Ndayisaba, said his office is promoting the use of smart buses to arrest environmental degradation.“We must be selective on the vehicles that enter the country and should avoid being a dumping ground for old vehicles. However, the city is promoting the use of new smart buses that consume lower fuel and transport many passengers,” he said. He added that they had devised mitigating measures citing the scheme to plant a large area of the city with trees.Western countries have in the past come under attack for using developing countries as dumping grounds for derelict materials, especially vehicles and machinery.In 2007, the Council of Ministers made a decision to harmonise the age limit for vehicles imported into the region. However, to date, the East African Standards Committee (EASC) is yet to reach a consensus on the issue.

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Concerns arise over pollution from old imported vehicles