The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has urged police not to overcharge people on fines for pollution offences, saying doing so was tantamount to corruption.
Aaron Chigona, the EMA director of environmental management services, said police had a duty to ensure every citizen abided by the environmental management laws.
“The police should not overcharge people and should work within the limits of the law,” he said in a recent interview.
“We urge them to only charge stipulated amounts and contribute towards reducing cases of corruption.” Chigona said EMA intended to educate people about environmental laws so they could defend themselves when overcharged in fines.
He said police could also utilise EMA’s website and educate themselves on the Environmental Management Act and its statutory instruments, adding the police could genuinely be unaware of the stipulated charge for a particular fine.
EMA charges a maximum of $5 000 for environmental-related offences with the minimum being $5. The charges are set in stages with stage one being the lowest at $5 while stage 14 is the highest at $5 000.
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Stage 14 mainly penalises large companies for accidents such as oil spills and related disasters.